Avatar: Last Airbender - General Rin (Water)
by DeadGirlEtarnal
Summary: Everyone knows the story of the Last Airbender Aang and his friend's journey to stop The Fire Lord Ozai and stop the 100-year war. This is a twist on the tale with a new face. The name General Rin, she is with Prince Zuko on his hunt for The Avatar, they don't get along but things change over time like most, this is her story on The Avatar hunt. I ONLY OWN OC'S OR ORIGINAL CHAPTERS
1. Classified File

**Full Name -** _Rin Yuu (First - Last Name)_

 **Name Meaning -** _Cold Companion (First) Excellence, Superiority, Gentleness (Last)_

 **Age -** _16_

 **Birth -** _(Unknown)_

Found - _83_ _AG Early Summer_

 **Gender -** _Female_

 **Height -** _5'1"_

 **Weight -** _125 lbs_

 **Nationality -** _Fire Nation_

 **Ethnicity -** _Fire Nation Army_

 **Position -** _General_

 **Appearance -** _Blond long hair in two low ponytails, bright golden eyes, burn scar on right shoulder._

 **Attire -** _Fire Nation Army Uniform, Polar Gear, Army Spyware, Sleepwear._

 **Bending Ability -** _Fire (Purple) (234227-Purple-Fire-Eater)_

 **Weapons -** _Double-Edged Scythe (_double_scythe_by_abscenceo)_

 **Friends -** _Soldiers, Crew, Former General Iroh, Ty Lee, Mai_

 **Family -** _JouYuu (Adopted Father - Deceased), Sai Yuu (Adopted Mother - Deceased)_

 **Enemies -** _Princess Azula, Fire Lord Oazi, Zhao_

 **Interests -** _Training, Fighting, Prince Zuko, Control, Combat, Meditation, Reading Books, Listening To Music, Swimming, Cooking_

 **Disinterest -** _Practical Jokes, Losing, Avatar Chasing, Reports, Zhao Behaviour, Bringing Up Her Past_

 **Personality -** _Somewhat Calm, Controlling, Slightly Aggressive, Sarcastic, Sassy, Loyal, Creative, Defensive, Level Headed Whilst Fighting, Willful, People Person, Smart, Snarky, Cocky_

 **Background -** _She was found outside on the doorstep of the house of General Jou Yuu and Sai Yuu. She was thought to be an orphan. She was raised as a soldier prodigy. Sai Yuu (Adopted Mother) became deadly ill when she was 6 years old, and Jou Yuu (Adopted Father) died in action in the Earth Kingdom when she was 10 years old. She joined the Fire Nation Army at the age 8 years old, she raised through the ranks quickly making General at age 12. At age 13 she was assigned to protect Prince Zuko and Former General Iroh on their journey to find The Avatar._


	2. The Airbending Kid!

_"Water... Earth... Fire... Air…" Katara voices over as the benders demonstrate as she talks. "My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of peace when the Avatar kept the balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked." It journeys into the map showing the world and closes in on a bender displaying all the elements. "Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless firebenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished." He disappears from sight. "A hundred years have passed and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe." It shows the Water Tribe men on their boats and Katara hugging her older brother Sokka holding up a lantern. "Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle is broken, but I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow the Avatar will return to save the world."_

 **The Airbending Kid!**

Water and ice everywhere, that was what was here in the South Pole where two teens in a small canoe fishing for food for their tribe. The boy's name is Sokka, he's the oldest of the two siblings and it shows as he stands up in the canoe readying himself. He looks down at the water, spear at the ready. The other was a girl, the younger sibling, she's Katara and much like everyone in the tribe wears a blue overcoat to keep warm. The canoe is drifting slowly through the ice-cold water as Sokka concentrates on his fishing. A fish swims close to the surface of the water in front of Sokka. "It's not getting away from me this time. Watch and learn, Katara. This is how you catch a fish." Sokka boasts keeping his eye on the fish in front of him. Katara leans over the edge of the canoe to see her own fish. She hesitates at first but removes her left glove from her hand. She takes a deep calming breath closing her eyes and lets it out, opening her eyes with a determined look in her eyes, she begins to move her hand in an up and down motion then a globe of water containing a fish bursts out of the water as she continues to move her arms around from side to side.  
"Sokka, look!" Katara exclaims in excitement.  
"Shhh. Katara, you're gonna scare it away. Mmmm... I can already smell it cookin'!" Sokka whispers at her trying to concentrate.  
"But Sokka! I caught one!" Katara tells him as she tries to retain her control over the globe of water. She seems to struggle with the blob of water as it floats closer to Sokka, who at the wrong time raises his spear in the air to strike the fish. He cocks his arm back and bursts the water bubble, the fish falls back into the sea as Sokka gets drenched in water.  
"Hey!" She complains disappointed.  
"Ugh! Why is it that every time you play with magic water I get soaked?" He asks his shoulders slumping down.  
"It's not magic. It's waterbending, and it's-" She tries reminding him of the facts.  
"Yeah, yeah, an ancient art unique to our culture, blah blah blah. Look, I'm just saying that if I had weird powers, I'd keep my weirdness to myself." He interrupts her having heard it many times before.  
"You're calling me weird? I'm not the one who makes muscles at myself every time I see my reflection in the water." She points out as Sokka again proves her point as she looks over to see him making muscles and looking at the water's reflection. He stops turning to Katara giving her a look. Suddenly the boat gets caught in a current bumping everywhere, they look to see they have entered an area full of ice.

They move around trying to manoeuvre their canoe between the icebergs in the water as they scream. "Watch out! Go left! Go left!" Katara shouts out in fear, the canoe moves through the ice pack with speed but the icebergs around them are colliding with one another. They narrowly miss them one by one till their canoe is crushed when three icebergs all collide at once. The two teens jump out at the right time onto one of the icebergs. "You call that left?" She asks her brother angrily.  
"You don't like my steering. Well, maybe you should have waterbended us out of the ice." Sokka mocks her as they sit on their little iceberg and behind them, a huge one rears up from the water towering over them into the sky above.  
"So it's my fault?" Katara asks him.  
"I knew I should have left you home. Leave it to a girl to screw things up." He moans as Katara boils up in anger as she points at her brother.  
"You are the most sexist, immature, nut-brained…" She raises her voice at him but as she says this the iceberg they are sitting on begins to move and a crack appears on the iceberg behind her. "Ugh, I'm embarrassed to be related to you! Ever since Mom died I've been doing all the work around camp while you've been off playing soldier!"  
"Uh... Katara?" Sokka tries warning her seeing the cracking iceberg behind her.  
"I even wash all the clothes! Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you, NOT PLEASANT!" She shouts.  
"Katara! Settle down!" He warns her.  
"No, that's it. I'm done helping you. From now on, you're on your own!" She screams at the end once she finishes, the iceberg behind her splits open entirely. It falls apart the major pieces falling into the water around it, pushing the iceberg away as the teens hold on tight until the iceberg settles down on the water.  
"Okay, you've gone from weird to freakish, Katara," Sokka tells her.  
"You mean I did that?" Katara asks him.  
"Yup. Congratulations." He tells her looking as they both lean over the edge of the iceberg raft. Suddenly the water in front of them begins to glow an illuminating blue in the surface of the water. The teens move backwards on their little raft as another, slightly lighter colour iceberg breaks the surface of the water. The new iceberg begins to settle on the water, Katara walks to the edge of their iceberg to get a better look. Deep inside the ice, a figure of a boy in a meditation pose. The outline of white arrows on his fists and head when suddenly his eyes pop open with his eyes glowing and his arrow markings glow white too.  
"He's alive! We have to help." Katara shouts grabbing Sokka's club putting her hood down and turns to the boy in the iceberg.  
"Katara! Get back here! We don't know what that thing is!" He tries changing her mind but she just ignores him and skips across a few little patches of ice towards the boy trapped in ice and Sokka follows behind her. She begins using the club whacking the ice a few times after a few hard whacks, the ice cracks open. Air releases out as if the iceberg has a hollow chamber within it but it is not entirely clear. The iceberg cracks from the top to the bottom before exploding open. A large shaft of white-blue light shoots straight into the heavens above. The iceberg part under the water it glows brightly, the shaft of bright light can be seen from afar.

* * *

On an iron-hulled battleship with a spiked prow cutting through the sea nearby. On the bridge appears to be several decks above the main deck. A young man stands on the foredeck dressed in red armour, his head shaved except for a ponytail. He stares intently at the shaft of light in front of the ship. His face is illuminated by the shaft of light, the left side of his face is badly scarred around his left eye. The light from the shaft of light dissipates from the sky. "Finally," Zuko turning around to address someone behind him. "Uncle, do you realize what this means?" He asks. An old man seated cross-legged at a low table, drinking tea and playing a game.  
"I won't get to finish my game?" Iroh guesses looking at his nephew.  
"It means my search - it's about to come to an end," Zuko states with determination and Iroh groans and looks over to his right. "That light came from an incredibly powerful source. It has to be him!"  
"Or it's just the celestial lights. We've been down this road before, Prince Zuko. I don't want you to get too excited over nothing. Please, sit. Why don't you enjoy a cup of calming jasmine tea?" Iroh asks him looking down at the piece in his hand.  
"I don't need any calming tea! I need to capture the Avatar. Helmsman, head a course for the light!" Zuko explodes in anger before a burst of flame passes his face, he jumps back avoiding the flame, he looks to his right to see who had done that.  
"Helmsman? Who is your superior?" A woman's voice asks, Zuko narrows his eyes at her as she walks over to him.  
"You are, General Rin." Helmsman answers her.  
"Very good, Prince Zuko, who is the superior here?" She asks him looking at him with a glare.  
"I am." Zuko answers.  
"You're wrong, little boy. I am, I am your superior here and I am in charge, so helmsman do as the little boy says and follow the course for the light and step on it." Rin orders and turns around to walk away. "They listen to me only. So do us all a favour and shut up grumpy." She walks away to a small group of soldiers.

* * *

The explosion of light from the iceberg, Sokka tries shielding his sister from the blast, the teens look up to see a blue light still swirling around the top of what is left of the iceberg. Suddenly a boy, his eyes and arrow markings still glow a white light. "Stop!" Sokka shouts raising his spear at the glowing boy. The Said boy stands up as the glowing and residual energy begins to fade. He seems to have passed out and slides down the side of the ruined iceberg to Sokka and Katara, they lunge forward and catch him as he falls. Sokka pokes Aang in the head with the blunt end of his weapon.  
"Stop it!" Katara shouts as she gives Sokka the club turning to the boy. She gently turns him over so he's lying on his back. He begins to wake up. He slowly opens his eyes and the first thing he sees is Katara. A gentle breeze blows her braids and he takes a breath.  
"I need to ask you something," Aang whispers in a weak voice.  
"What?" Katara asks.  
"Please... come closer," Aang whispers.  
"What is it?" Katara asks him.  
"Will you go penguin sledging with me?" Aang asks her in a normal voice filled with excitement.  
"Uh... sure. I guess." Katara answers him as he airbends himself to his feet as he starts to rub the back of his head.  
"Ahh!" Sokka exclaims in slight fear at the movement.  
"What's going on here?" Aang asks them.  
"You tell us! How'd you get in the ice?" Sokka asks him as he pokes Aang with his spear. "And why aren't you frozen?"  
"I'm not sure," Aang tells him trying to move the spear away from himself absently. He gasps as a low, animal-like noise is heard from inside the iceberg, he frantically begins to climb back up the melted iceberg. He jumps over what is left of the iceberg and lands on a huge furry animal that is inside. "Appa! Are you alright? Wake up, buddy." He asks the beast. He leans down opening one of the beast's eyes then closes it again. Aang hops down from the beast and tries to lift the animal's large head, but with no effect. Katara and Sokka come around the corner and their mouths both drop in shock to see the beast, whose mouth opens and licks the young boy trying to wake him up. "Haha! You're okay!" He cheers and hugs Appa, he seems to be occupying most of the crater left by the explosion. He is a large bison with six legs and horns like a steer, he was a flying bison. Appa gets up shaking himself off a bit.  
"What is that thing?" Sokka asks Aang pointing towards Appa.  
"This is Appa, my flying bison." Aang introduces him.  
"Right. And this is Katara, my flying sister." Sokka says sarcastically pointing to her as he says it. Aang opens his mouth to reply but Appa interrupts him as he begins to sneeze. Aang ducks just in time as Appa lets out a loud and large sneeze, it flies out and lands over Sokka. "Ewww! Aahh!" Sokka screams like a girl as he's covered in snot, he tries getting rid of it, rolling around on the ice and snow.  
"Don't worry. It'll wash out." Aang informs him as if it were nothing.  
"Ugh!" Sokka groans trying to wipe it off his face.  
"So, do you guys live around here?" Aang asks the two teens.  
"Don't answer that! Did you see that crazy bolt of light? He was probably trying to signal the Fire Navy." Sokka warns her looking at Aang with suspicion.  
"Oh, yeah, I'm sure he's a spy for the Fire Navy. You can tell by that evil look in his eye." Katara jokes looking at the innocent face Aang was pulling. "The paranoid one is my brother, Sokka. You never told us your name."  
"I'm A... aaaahhhh... ahhhhhh... aaah aaah aaah AAAAAAACHOOOO!" Aang sneezes zooming high up into the air from the ground, he lands on the ground with a whistling sound much like a bomb dropping. "I'm Aang." He introduces himself while sniffling and rubbing his nose due to the cold.  
"You just sneezed... and flew ten feet in the air," Sokka exclaims in disbelief.  
"Really? It felt higher than that." Aang disagrees lightly.  
"You're an Airbender!" Katara gasps looking at Aang with a newfound realization.  
"Sure am." Aang agrees with her a goofy smile on his face.  
"Giant light beams... flying bison... airbenders... I think I've got Midnight Sun Madness. I'm going home to where stuff makes sense." Sokka tries reasoning, turning to walk off, but stops at the edge of the iceberg.  
"Well, if you guys are stuck Appa and I can give you a lift." Aang offers airbending himself on the top of Appa's head, he sits down on a gigantic saddle on the beast's back, he reaches for the reins attached to both of Appa's horns.  
"We'd love a ride! Thanks!" Katara says while climbing onto Appa.  
"Oh, no... I am not getting on that fluffy snot monster." Sokka argues.  
"Are you hoping some other kind of monster will come along and give you a ride home? You know... before you freeze to death?" Katara asks him sarcastically. Sokka opens his mouth to try to say something but gives up before he does. He sighs in defeat and gets onto Appa's back with Katara, the look of excitement on her face and Sokka looks all grumpy arms folded across his chest like a stubborn child.  
"Okay. First-time flyers, hold on tight! Appa, yip yip!" Aang cheers, he shakes the reins but Appa just makes a low rumbling sound, he flaps his huge beaver-like tail then launches himself into the air. Appa spears his legs wide, but falls right back down into the water with a huge splash and begins to swim in the ice cold water back to their tribe. "Come on, Appa. Yip yip." Aang tries again but nothing.  
"Wow. That was truly amazing." Sokka teases him looking gleeful.|  
"Appa's just tired. A little rest and he'll be soaring through the sky. You'll see." Aang reasons making a 'soaring through the sky' motion with his hand, his eyes finally rest on Katara, he leaves them on Appa's saddle with a smile on his face as he looks at her.  
"Why are you smiling at me like that?" Katara asks him looking at him strangely.  
"Oh... I was smiling?" Aang asks her faking innocent.  
"Uuuuugh." Sokka groans in disgust, as Appa swims through the water, flapping his tail.

* * *

Back on the Fire Navy Ship sailing in the night, Zuko stands on the spotting deck off the bridge looking forward, Iroh approaches him. "I'm going to bed now," Iroh tells him as he exaggerates his yawn. "Yep. A man needs his rest. Prince Zuko, you need some sleep. Even if you're right and the Avatar is alive, you won't find him. Your father, grandfather, and great-grandfather all tried and failed."  
"Because their honour didn't hinge on the Avatar's capture. Mine does. This coward's hundred years in hiding are over." Zuko says with determination.  
"Yeah, if he's still alive," Rin mumbles to herself walking away with two soldiers on either side, feeling the glare Zuko gives her retreating form.

* * *

Appa still swimming with the group still on his back, Aang lies back onto the top of Appa's head. Katara, sits down on the saddle on Appa's back with her brother, she crawls forward, she leans over looking down at Aang. "Hey." Katara greets lowly.  
"Hey. Whatcha thinkin' about?" Aang asks her looking at her all dreamy.  
"I guess I was wondering – you being an Airbender and all – if you had any idea what happened to the Avatar," Katara asks him snapping him out of his daze.  
"Uh... no. I didn't know him... I mean, I knew people that knew him, but I didn't. Sorry." Aang lies trying not to look at her.  
"Okay. Just curious. Goodnight." Katara says looking sullen.  
"Sleep tight," Aang says as she turns away back onto the saddle, Aang looks away with a look of fear runs across his face as Appa keeps on swimming.

* * *

 _Aang walks up on top of Appa on the saddle with rain clouds in the sky with rain pouring from the dull sky, Aang finds himself struggling against Appa's reigns with more heavy rain pouring down. "Aaahhh!" Aang screams, he again finds himself somewhere else, this time underwater, Aang and Appa puncture the water surface and enter the watery depths. They make it up for a brief grace of air, Appa groans but they are once again driven down under by the harsh waves. They drift further downwards, Aang drops Appa's reigns beginning to lose consciousness but suddenly Aang's eyes and markings glow a bright white light. He puts his hands together, freezing himself and Appa in a huge ball of ice saving them._

* * *

"Aang! Aang, wake up!" Aang hears Katara's voice from far away growing closer, he wakes up with a gasp finding himself in a tent. "It's okay. We're in the village now. Come on, get ready. Everyone's waiting to meet you." She tells him as Aang gets up putting his shirt and hood on. Katara looks at his Airbender tattoos in slight awe, she grabs Aang's hand dragging him outside the tent as he carries his staff with him.  
"Whaaaa!" Aang exclaims at the fast action as she puts him out into the village with a small crowd gathered wishing to greet him, in the crowd, it was only women of different ages and children.  
"Aang, this is the entire village. Entire village, Aang." Katara introduces pointing to them, Aang bows to them in a friendly manner, but the people pull back from him anyway.  
"Uh... why are they all looking at me like that? Did Appa sneeze on me?" Aang asks Katara looking over himself as an old woman walks over.  
"Well, no one has seen an Airbender in a hundred years. We thought they were extinct until my granddaughter and grandson found you." Gran Gran informs him looking him over.  
"'Extinct'?" Aang asks her looking confused.  
"Aang, this is my grandmother," Katara tells him.  
"Call me Gran Gran." She tells him.  
"What is this, a weapon? You can't stab anything with this." Sokka says walking over to them from his spot outside the tent from before taking Aang's staff trying to find out what it does.  
"It's not for stabbing," Aang tells him creating a jet of air that sucks the staff back into his own hand. "It's for airbending." He opens the staff showing that it's a glider with red wings.  
"Magic trick! Do it again!" A little girl exclaims in excitement.  
"Not magic, airbending. It lets me control the air currents around my glider and fly." Aang corrects her.  
"You know, last time I checked, humans can't fly," Sokka argues.  
"Check again!" Aang tells him launching himself into the air with his glider in his hands. He soars through the air, doing loops in the air as the villagers on the ground point at him in wonder.  
"Whoa... it's flying... it's amazing!" They cheer, Aang looks down to the ground at Katara who smiles at him from the ground. He does seem to be paying attention he crashing right into Sokka's guard tower. He pulls his head out of the tower and falls to the ground with his glider with a crash groaning at the impact.  
"My Watchtower!" Sokka cries out in disbelief.  
"That was amazing." Katara smiles as she helps Aang back to his feet. He twirls his glider shut as Sokka examines the damaged tower behind them but once Aang closes his glider a huge bank of snow buries Sokka.  
"Great. You're an Airbender, Katara's a waterbender, together you can just waste time all day long." Sokka grumbles.  
"You're a waterbender!" Aang exclaims looking at Katara.  
"Well... sort of. Not yet." Katara tells him timidly her cheeks turning a tinge of red.  
"Alright. No more playing. Come on, Katara, you have chores." Gran Gran tells her leading her away.  
"I told you! He's the real thing, Gran Gran! I finally found a bender to teach me." Katara tells her.  
"Katara, try not to put all your hopes in this boy." Gran Gran warns her knowing how stubborn her granddaughter is.  
"But he's special. I can tell. I sense he's filled with much wisdom." Katara tells her looking over to her right to see Aang with his tongue frozen to his staff, the children gathered around him.  
"Sthee? Now my tongue ith thuck to my sthaff." Aang slurs, a child next to him grabs the staff yanking it, but Aang's tongue stays stuck.  
"Tee hee!" The children clap.

* * *

The Fire Navy ship cuts through the waves as the sun sets with Zuko facing two Fire Navy seamen with Iroh sitting nearby with Rin next to him. "Again," Iroh tells him as Zuko blasts fire from his hands at the guards but misses. The guards attack Zuko with blasts of fire from their firsts, but Zuko dodges them. He backflips the guards to land behind them. "Ha! Heeya!" Iroh sighs getting up from his spot.  
"No! Power in firebending comes from the breath. Not the muscles. The breath becomes energy in the body. The energy extends past your limbs and becomes fire. Show him Rin." Iroh says as Rin gets up walking towards the Prince, she demonstrates, releasing a controlling plume of flame that bursts in front of Zuko but doesn't hit him. "Get it right this time."  
"Enough. I've been drilling this sequence all day. Teach me the next set. I'm more than ready." Zuko argues aggressively.  
"No, you are impatient. You have yet to master your basics. Drill it again!" Iroh says the last bit more forceful.  
"Grrrr... huh!" Zuko explodes as he blasts one of the guards backwards with a gout of fire. "The sages tell us that the Avatar is the last Airbender. He must be over a hundred years old by now. He's had a century to master the four elements. I'll need more than basic firebending to defeat him. You WILL teach me the advanced set!" He argues.  
"Very well. But first I must finish my roast duck." Iroh tells him and begins eating.  
"You rest Iroh, I'll take it from here," Rin tells him walking in front of Zuko with her eyes narrowed at him, she curls her hand into a fist with a burst of flames shooting out to Zuko pushing him onto his back. "Let's begin shall we, Prince Zuko." She smirks down at him with the guards around them whispering and staring at the two in fear as Zuko looks up at her with anger.

* * *

Sokka stands with the afternoon sky behind him addressing an audience as he paces back and forth. "Now men, it's important that you show no fear when you face a firebender. In the Water Tribe, we fight to the last man standing. For without courage, how can we call ourselves men?" He asks them but his audience a bunch of children looking at him with boredom.  
"I gotta pee!" A little boy tells him raising his hand.  
"Listen! Until your father's return from the war, they're counting on you to be the men of this tribe. And that means no potty breaks." Sokka tells them.  
"But I really gotta go." The little boy argues.  
"Okay... who else has to go?" Sokka asks sighing and all six of their hands rise into the air. Sokka slaps his forehead in disgust as all six of them leave and Katara arrives.  
"Have you seen Aang? Gran Gran said he disappeared over an hour ago." Katara asks him.

Aang emerges from a small igloo type bathroom stall, he straightens up adjusting his pants and smiles at the boys coming over to him. "Wow! Everything freezes in there!" Aang laughs gesturing over his shoulder to the toilet and the boys laugh with him.  
"Ugh! Katara, get him out of here. This lesson is for warriors only." Sokka tells her. They get interrupted by one of the kids exclaiming in joy, they look over to see Aang on Appa's back, he has his tail propped up using a makeshift sawhorse. One of the children uses Appa's back and tail as a slide to land in a pile of snow. The children laugh at the fun and Katara joins in on the laughing. "Stop! Stop it right now!" Sokka orders them then turns to Aang. "What's wrong with you? We don't have time for fun and games with a war going on." He asks him.  
"What war?" Aang asks them hopping down from Appa's back. "What are you talking about?"  
"You're kidding, right?" Sokka asks him but Aang moves his gaze slightly off of Sokka to look behind him.  
"PENGUIN!" Aang screams jumping in joy looking at the penguin, the penguin stops in its tracks as if aware that it has been spotted, makes an excited noise turning to waddle away. Aang uses his airbending skills to run at an unbelievable speed towards the penguin.  
"He's kidding, right?" Sokka asks looking at his sister who shrugs her shoulders.

* * *

On the beach, penguins waddle around squawking, Katara tries looking around for Aang. "Aang?" She calls out as Aang chases some penguins around, unable to catch any of them as they waddle away.  
"Haha! Hey, come on little guy. Wanna go sledging?" Aang asks them, then lunges for one but lands flat on his face. He gets back up as Katara walks over to him. "Oof! Heh heh, I have a way with animals." He says putting his arms out like the Penguin and waddles the same. "Yarp! Yarp yarp! Yarp! Yarp yarp! Yarp!"  
"Hahaha... Aang, I'll help you catch a penguin if you teach me waterbending." Katara giggles looking at his act.  
"You got a deal! Just one little problem. I'm an Airbender, not a waterbender. Isn't there someone in your tribe who can teach you?" Aang asks her.  
"No. You're looking at the only waterbender on the whole South Pole," Katara says looking way in sadness.  
"This isn't right. A waterbender needs to master water. What about the North Pole? There's another Water Tribe up there, right? Maybe they have waterbenders who could teach you." Aang asks her looking so hopeful.  
"Maybe. But we haven't had contact with our sister tribe in a long time. It's not exactly 'turn right at the second glacier.' It's on the other side of the world." Katara tells him.  
"But you forget: I have a flying bison. Appa and I can personally fly you to the North Pole. Katara, we're gonna find you a master!" Aang tells her with glee.  
"That's…" She says happily but pauses. "I mean, I don't know. I've never left home before." She says in concern thinking of her home.  
"Well, you think about it. But in the meantime, can you teach me to catch one of these penguins?" Aang asks her trying to have fun.  
"Okay, listen closely my young pupil. Catching penguins is an ancient and sacred art. Observe." Katara tells him in a mock teaching voice. She goes into her coat and pulls out a little fish and tosses it to Aang, he is then instantly surrounded by a horde of hungry penguins.

Katara and Aang rocket off the ice bank in the late afternoon, each sitting atop a penguin. They land on the bank below and continue down at a high speed on the penguin's belly. Aang and his penguin take a jump off a small ramp, eventually landing in front of Katara, she takes the jump and lands near him and they laugh and cheer. "I haven't done this since I was a kid!" Katara exclaims.  
"You still are a kid!" Aang exclaims back at her. They rocket across the frozen landscape, they enter a system of ice tunnels. The tunnels have gaps with sunlight pouring through, they emerge from the tunnels and get off their penguins, which stand up and dizzily wander away making little-chirping noises. They walk forward, looking in front of them. "Whoa... what is that?" Aang asks her looking at a huge ship stuck in the ice. It was a derelict Fire Navy ship, the shadow on the ice from the sun behind it.  
"A Fire Navy ship, and a very bad memory for my people," Katara tells him with a deadly serious tone as Aang begins to walk towards the ship. "Aang, stop! We're not allowed to go near it. The ship could be booby-trapped."  
"If you wanna be a bender, you have to let go of fear," Aang tells her, but she looks uncertain but follows him to the ship.

They climb up the ice onto the ship and enter inside through a gaping hole in one of the forward compartment below the water line. They walk around the dark corridors inside, past many darkened rooms. "This ship has haunted my tribe since Gran Gran was a little girl. It was part of the Fire Nation's first attacks." Katara tells him.  
"Okay, back up. I have friends all over the world, even in the Fire Nation. I've never seen any war." Aang argues gently with her looking around the room.  
"Aang, how long were you in that iceberg?" Katara asks looking at him.  
"I don't know... a few days, maybe?" Aang questions not sure himself.  
"I think it was more like a hundred years!" Katara tells him in shock.  
"What? That's impossible. Do I look like a hundred-twelve-year-old man to you?" Aang asks her looking confused.  
"Think about it. The war is a century old. You don't know about it because, somehow, you were in there that whole time. It's the only explanation." Katara tells him as he puts his hand to his head and walks backwards stunned by this realization, he sinks to the floor.  
"A hundred years! I can't believe it." Aang says in disbelief at the statement,  
"I'm sorry, Aang. Maybe somehow there's a bright side to all this." She kneels down next to him in comfort.  
"I did get to meet you." He smiles at her.  
"Come on. Let's get out of here." She smiles back at him as she helps him back onto his feet and they start walking once again around the ship. Aang enters a dark room on the ship, Katara behind him in the hallway. "Aang? Let's head back. This place is creepy."  
"Huh?" Aang asks as his foot drags a trip wire on the floor. Behind them the door gets blocked by a grate that drops from the ceiling, they grab it just after it falls shut on them but they are trapped inside the room. "What's that you said about booby traps?" Around them, machinery in the room starts to operate, with steam pressure and wheels begin turning. Steam begins to pour out of some of the equipment. Suddenly, a bright flare explodes out of the Fire Navy ship and into the sky above, leaving a trail of smoke behind it. Aang and Katara look out the window of the ship's bridge. "Uh oh." The flare explodes with a small shower of sparks, Aang and Katara are on the bridge where a hole in the ceiling as Aang looks at it. "Hold on tight!" He grabs Katara, she cries out in surprise by the action, he launches them both through the hole in the ceiling, he lands with her in his arms on top of the bridge.

* * *

Zuko looks through a telescope following the flare down for a few moments, before shifting downwards to show Aang hopping down the ship and the ice which encases it to the ground below, Katara still in his arms. "The Last Airbender. Quite agile for his old age. Wake my uncle! Tell him I found the Avatar…" Zuko says looking through the telescope as Aang and Katara run across the ice away from the ship. He scans left quickly, then pulls back right to focus on the Water Tribe Village. "...as well as his hiding place." He pulls away and looks to his left to see Rin who looks at him they both have a determined on their faces and nod to one another.

 **To Be Continued...**


	3. The Kid's The Avatar?

_"Water... Earth... Fire... Air…" Katara voices over as the benders demonstrate as she talks. "My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of peace when the Avatar kept the balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked." It journeys into the map showing the world and closes in on a bender displaying all the elements. "Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless firebenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished." He disappears from sight. "A hundred years have passed and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe." It shows the Water Tribe men on their boats and Katara hugging her older brother Sokka holding up a lantern. "Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle is broken, but I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow the Avatar will return to save the world."_

 **The Kid's The Avatar?**

It was sunset in the Water Tribe village, Gran Gran and some of the other villagers look down the ice road out of their village to see Aang and Katara in the distance walking towards them. As the teens approach them, the children run over to greet them. "Yay! Aang's back!" The Children cheer gathering around Aang as Sokka walks towards them angrily.  
"I knew it! You signalled the Fire Navy with that flare! You're leading them straight to us, aren't you?" Sokka accuses Aang pointing him out.  
"Aang didn't do anything. It was an accident." Katara protests against the accusation.  
"Yeh, we were on the ship and there was this booby trap and well…" Aang tells them putting his hand to his head as if trying to puzzle out the thought. "...we "boobied" right into it."  
"Katara, you shouldn't have gone on that ship. Now we could all be in danger!" Gran Gran shakes her head in disappointment at her granddaughter.  
"Don't blame Katara! I brought her there. It's my fault." Aang protests trying to protect Katara.  
"Aha! The traitor confesses! Warriors, away from the enemy!" Sokka exclaims and the children walk away from Aang towards Sokka and Gran Gran. "The foreigner is banned from our village!"  
"Sokka, you're making a mistake," Katara tells him angrily.  
"No! I'm keeping my promise to Dad. I'm protecting you from threats like him!" Sokka yells.  
"Aang is not our enemy! Don't you see? Aang's brought us something we haven't had in a long time. Fun." Katara motions to Aang trying to help her cause.  
"Fun? We can't fight firebenders with fun!" Sokka argues against the idea.  
"You should try it sometime." Aang offers smiling earnestly.  
"Get out of our village. Now!" Sokka orders Aang with no remorse on his face.  
"Grandmother, please, don't let Sokka do this." Katara pleads with her.  
"Katara, you knew going on that ship was forbidden. Sokka is right. I think it best if the Airbender leaves." Gran Gran tells her.  
"Then I'm banished too!" Katara yells back, she turns around, taking Aang by his shoulder and they begin to walk away. "C'mon, Aang, let's go!"

By the village on the left, Appa was ready for flight, while Sokka and the villagers stand on the right. In between them, is Katara and Aang making their way over to Appa, with the sun about to set behind them. "Where do you think you're going?" Sokka asks Katara pointing at her.  
"To find a waterbender! Aang is taking me to the North Pole!" Katara yells back at him.  
"I am? Great!" Aang seems confused at first but brightens up at the thought of spending more time with Katara.  
"Katara!" Sokka calls out to her and she stops in her tracks. "Would you really choose him over your tribe? Your own family?" He asks her. She pauses in her step in doubt. Aang comes up next to her.  
"Katara, I don't want to come between you and your family," Aang tells her and walks away towards Apps.  
"So, you're leaving the South Pole? This is goodbye?" Katara asks him looking sad.  
"Thanks for penguin sledging with me." Aang directs the question away.  
"Where will you go?" She asks him.  
"Guess I'll go back home and look for the airbenders." He pats Appa's head. "Wow, I haven't cleaned my room in a hundred years. Not looking forward to that." He thinks aloud. He airbends himself onto Appa's head where he takes the reigns. He turns to address the village. "It was nice meeting everyone."  
"Let's see your bison fly now, air boy." Sokka teases him trying to get the last laugh.  
"Come on, Appa, you can do it! Yip! Yip!" Aang exclaims moving the reins but Appa just rumbles getting to his feet.  
"Yeh, I thought so." Sokka scoffs, just as a little girl with pigtails rushes over with a cry and stands next to Katara.  
"Aang! Don't go! We'll miss you!" The Little Girl cries out with tears in her eyes.  
"I'll miss you too," Aang replies sadness in his voice as he turns to look at Katara, her braids blow in the soft breeze that rolls by. Aang turns away, shaking the reigns once more.  
"Come on, boy," Aang says and Appa begins to walk off, Katara and the little girl watch on with everyone else behind them. The little girl runs off crying back to the village while Gran Gran comes up behind Katara.  
"Katara, you'll feel better after you –" Gran Gran tries reasoning with her but she is cut off.  
"You happy now? There goes my one chance of becoming a waterbender!" Katara cuts her off angrily shouting at her before stalking off with heavy footsteps, leaving Gran Gran alone. Sokka directs the little boys through the village gate.  
"All right! Ready our defences! The Fire Nation could be on our shores any moment now!" Sokka warns them, one of the little boys stops, raising his head and dances around suggestively.  
"But, I gotta –" The little boy pleads.  
"And no potty breaks!" Sokka tells them pointing at them.

* * *

In the frozen wastelands outside of the Water Tribe village, Appa and Aang rest in a curved formation of ice and snow. The formation was two doughnuts shaped holes, Appa lies on his back in the lower ring, Aang in the smaller but higher one. Appa makes a rumbling noise. "Yeh, I liked her too," Aang says looking out to see something in the distance with shock get to his feet to see a Fire Navy's ship steaming towards the Water Tribe village. He looks over to the ship and to where the village lies over the horizon. "The village!" Aang shouts, he slides off his perch. "Appa, wait here!" Appa rumbles in reply shifting his position slightly.

* * *

Sokka back in the village readies himself putting on his war garb, his fingerless gloves, arm wraps, boots and finally face pain done with silence.

* * *

On the Fire Navy ship, Zuko is being helped into his armour by some attendants as he stands. He places his breastplate, shoulder guards and helmet on himself. Rin walks into the room in her armour, her helmet by her side, she looks at Zuko narrowing her eyes sizing him up readying him for battle then nods putting on her helmet before leaving.

* * *

Sokka leaves his tent with his weapons at hand. Alone, Sokka stands atop the ice wall of the village, scanning the mist for any sign of the enemy. Suddenly, a rumbling noise can be heard and the ground begins to shake. Parts of the wall on which Sokka stands on begin to crumble down. The villagers look around themselves in alarm of what is to come. Sokka stands as his watchtower in the background collapses in a heap of snow and ice. "Oh man!" Sokka grumbles to himself as he looks behind him at the fall of his watchtower. Chaos breaks out in the Water Tribe village as people begin to run every way. Katara in the midst of the panic sees something in the mist. Still, atop of the ice wall, Sokka looks so small as a massive shadow suddenly emerges from the mist, dwarfing Sokka. It is the bow of the Fire Navy Ship that boards Prince Zuko. "Ohhh, man!" He yells out as the ship approaches. The ship cuts through the ice all the way to the village wall itself. As the ship continues to break through the ice towards the wall, Katara puts Gran Gran into one of the tents at the back of the village then gets a small child out of harm's way as the ice floor of the village begins to crack all over the ground under the stress.

As Katara puts the child in a tent nearby, she turns to look back to Sokka, the ship as it reaches the wall, Sokka steadies himself at the ship's hull with his weapon in hand. "Sokka, get out of the way!" Katara shouts out at him. The ship finally reaches the village wall, it collapses under the hit into a heap of ice and snow tumbling back into the village, carrying Sokka with it. The ship comes to a halt, steam floats up from where the bow split the ice. The villagers, Katara in front, emerge from their shelter and stare in fear and amazement of the ship. Katara draws a deep breath in suspense, Sokka looks up at the ship, who also draws breath.

The sound of metal on metal from the bowsprit of the ship opening and folding out and down onto the Water Tribe's village ground. The bowsprit becomes a huge gangplank, for the disembarking Fire Nation troops, Sokka falls onto his back trying to avoid being crushed by the bowsprit.

As the steam clears from the top of the bowsprit, Zuko and a host of Fire Nation soldiers are revealed. Sokka and the village look on at them in fear, Zuko walks down the gangplank stairs followed by guards.

Sokka gets up slowly and charges at Zuko with a loud war cry. As he runs up the steps to Zuko, he casually and expertly kicks Sokka's weapon out of his hand then kicks Sokka in the face, sending him sprawling on the ice to the right. Sokka's head gets stuck in the snow, he struggles trying to free himself. The villagers draw back in fright and the ease with which their only warrior was put down by the invaders. The Fire Nation troops arrive at the village border in front of them stand the villagers, Zuko walks towards them to address the village. He looks over the crowd, then walks over to Katara and Gran Gran. "Where are you hiding him?" Zuko asks them, looking around the crowd as they do not respond. He grabs hold of Gran Gran showing her to the villagers. "He'd be about this age? Master of all elements?" He asks them but again no one responds. After a brief pause, he throws Gran Gran roughly back to Katara. With a cry of frustration, he launches a gout of flame over the villager's heads as they cower in fear. "I know you're hiding him!" He yells at them. Behind him, Sokka gets up after freeing himself. He retrieves his weapon and charges at Zuko with another war cry. Zuko turns around to him in annoyance but stops when seeing Rin holding Sokka by the neck, with a tug he falls onto his back. Rin places herself in front of the Prince to protect him. Rin drops onto her knee punching the ground by Sokka's head, but as she does he rolls out of the way, throwing his boomerang at her as he does. Rin moves her head only slightly avoiding the boomerang and moves Zuko at the same time. Zuko turns to look back in anger at Sokka over the near miss. A little boy in the crowd of villagers throws Sokka a spear.  
"Show no fear!" The little boy shouts out, Sokka catches the spear and charges at the soldier, who, as Sokka reaches her, breaks off pieces of the spear shaft with just her wrist guard. After the head of the spear is shorn off, Rin grabs the spear, hitting Sokka on the forehead with it several times, then breaks it in half over her knee and drops the pieces to the ground. Sokka, after getting hit, sinks to the ground, rubbing his head. Rin stands over him sternly. In the sky the boomerang reappears, it slams into the back of Zuko's head, knocking his helmet off kilter. Zuko becomes furious, spitting fire out of his hands as he storms over to hover menacingly over Sokka.

Aang skyrockets towards the village on a penguin, staff in hand. He flies right under Zuko, sweeping his legs out from under him, knocking Rin down onto her back. Zuko lands on his arse, his helmet lands on him. The children cheer as Aang reaches the villagers. As Aang and the Penguin bank, they dump a lot of snow on the cheering kids. They stop cheering for a moment, but then take up another cheer anyway. The Penguin slides to a halt pushing Aang off, the penguin gets up, looking at Aang then turns and waddles away. "Hey, Katara. Hey, Sokka." Aang calls out seeming to not know what he had done.  
"Hi...Aang. Thanks for comin'." Sokka replies dryly. Aang looks over at the Firebenders. Zuko gets to his feet along with Rin both assuming a firebending stance, Rin with her helmet still on, Aang at the ready with his staff. He is surrounded by Zuko and his men, they begin to close in on him, but Aang blows the men on either side of him back with a blast of air. He blasts Zuko and Rin as well, but they hold their ground, they shield their faces from the wind. "Looking for me?" He asks.  
"You're the Airbender? You're the Avatar?" Zuko asks looking at him in disbelief.  
"Aang?" Katara gasps.  
"No way," Sokka says also in disbelief., as Zuko and Aang manoeuvre for position against each other in the middle of the village which seems to have become an arena.  
"I've spent years preparing for this encounter. Training. Meditating. You're just a child!" Zuko tells him in disappointment at the outcome, he signals Rin secretly to back off as she makes a step towards them but stops.  
"Well, you're just a teenager." Aang counters, before Zuko, fires blast after blast at him, as he cries out. Aang is hard pressed, fear showing on his face. Aang dissipates each blast as it strikes by twirling his staff in front of him. The dissipation doesn't block the fire from reaching the villagers, and they cry out at the flames. Aang looks behind to them realizing he can't protect them all. "If I go with you, will you promise to leave everyone alone?" He asks Zuko as he's still in a firebending stance. After a brief pause, he straightens up and nods stiffly. Aang stands still as a soldier takes his staff and leads him to the ship. Katara rushes forward to try and stop him.  
"No, Aang! Don't do this!" Katara tries reasoning.  
"Don't worry, Katara, it'll be okay." He tells her as they push him forward roughly. "Take care of Appa for me until I get back."  
"Head a course to the Fire Nation. I'm going home." Zuko orders, Rin walks over pushing Zuko back.  
"Who gives the orders around here?" She asks him in a hushed voice.  
"You do, General Rin," Zuko grumbles but loud enough.  
"Well done." She taunts him and walks away as they board the ship and the bowsprit rises back up. Aang looks back hopefully at his new friend as the ship bowsprit closes. Katara's eyes water as Aang leaves her sight. Aang's smile drops as he sees Katara in pain. The shadow of the closing bowsprit closes over him and snaps into place.

* * *

It is morning in the Water Tribe village ruined with the jagged path through the ice that the Fire Navy's ship opened up plainly visible as the same shattered village wall. Life seems to go on, however, the fire at the centre of the village smokes and villagers are at their work. The villagers tend to the fire, digging out the watchtower and re-raising tents. They all look so sorrowful. Katara stares out at the edge of the water looking out at the sun rising over the sea, Sokka walks by her carrying some things. "We have to go after that ship, Sokka. Aang saved our tribe; now we have to save him." Katara tells her brother.  
"Katara, I—" Sokka tries saying.  
"Why can't you realize that he's on our side? If we don't help him, no one will. I know you don't like Aang, but we owe him and I—" Katara argues but stops.  
"Katara! Are you gonna talk all day or are you comin' with me?" Sokka asks her as he motions to his left, she turns her head to see a canoe at the ready.  
"Sokka!" Katara gasps in happiness giving him a massive bear hug.  
"Get in. We're going to save your boyfriend." Sokka tells her.  
"He's not my—" Katara tries arguing.  
"Whatever," Sokka says.  
"What do you two think you're doing?" Gran Gran asks them walking over to them. They turn around trying to look innocent. Gran Gran looks at them looking momentarily severe, but then smiles at them and offers them a blue bundle. "You'll need these. You have a long journey ahead of you. It's been so long since I've had hope. But you brought it back to life, my little waterbender." She tells them and hugs Katara. "And you, my brave warrior, be nice to your sister." And she hugs Sokka.  
"Yeah... okay, Gran," Sokka says looking at her.  
"Aang is the Avatar. He's the world's only chance. You both found him for a reason. Now your destinies are intertwined with his." Gran Gran tells them.  
"There's no way we're gonna catch a warship with a canoe." Katara comments as Appa mounts the crest of the hill in the background. He makes a low rumble as he approaches. "Appa!" She exclaims as she runs towards him.  
"You just love taking me out of my comfort zone, don't ya?" Sokka asks her.

* * *

On the Fire Nation Navy ship prows cutting through the ice packed water. On the foredeck, Aang has his hands bound behind him, facing Zuko, Iroh and a bunch of guards as Rin talks to some of her men. "This staff will make an excellent gift for my father. I suppose you wouldn't know of fathers, being raised by monks. Take the Avatar to the prison hold. And" Zuko orders them then shoves the staff in Iroh's direction. "take this to my quarters." Iroh takes the staff from Zuko as he walks away. Iroh immediately turns to the guard on his left.  
"Hey, you mind taking this to his quarters for me?" He asks the guard. The guard takes the staff from him as Aang gets escorted down some stairs into the ship. The ship steams through a narrow strip of water between walls of ice.

Aang is escorted along one of the many ship's hallways. "So... I guess you never fought an Airbender before. I bet I can take you both with my hands tied behind my back." Aang tells them.  
"Silence!" One of the guards orders him as they stop in front of a door. As one of the guards moves to open the door with a key, Aang draws in a great breath and blows the guard with the key into the door, knocking him unconscious. They are blown all the way back down the hallway. They crash into the stairs they came down on. The guards are knocked out since Aang uses him to cushion his own impact. Aang then airbends himself back up onto the deck and airbends the door at the end of the deck open. He enters the ship and runs down the hallway. One of the guards Aang escaped from emerges from below and shouts up at the guard on the bridge deck in the foreground. The bridge guards turn and run.  
"The Avatar has escaped!" A guard shouts out.

* * *

Appa swims lazily through the water, with Katara at the reigns and Sokka on his back in the saddle. "Go. Fly. Soar." Sokka orders drearily.  
"Please, Appa, we need your help. Aang needs your help." Katara pleads with him.  
"Up. Ascend. Elevate." Sokka tries again.  
"Sokka doesn't believe you can fly, but I do, Appa." She tries reasoning. "Come on. Don't you wanna save Aang?" She asks him but all Appa does is make a rumbling noise in response, but doesn't speed up or fly.  
"What was it that kid said? Yee-ha? Hup hup? Wahoo? Uh... yip yip?" Sokka asks but the last one seems to get a response as Appa makes a rumbling noise again and begins to flop his massive beaver-like tail. He begins to hop along the surface of the water as he picks up his speed. Finally, with a mighty heave, he takes off into the sky.  
"You did it, Sokka!" Katara exclaims in excitement.  
"He's flying! He's flying! Katara, he's—!" Sokka exclaims too in excitement, but one look at Katara giving him a smug look. "I mean, big deal, he's flying." He changes his mood, as Appa flies up higher and into the horizon.

* * *

Aang runs down one of the ship's hallways, looking behind him for pursuers. His hands are still bound behind him, he turns around and starts to run forward right into three Fire Nation soldiers blocking his way, weapons drawn at the ready. "You haven't seen my staff around, have you?" Aang asks them panting for breath. Aang runs towards them, running up along the wall and ceiling around the guards in a corkscrew-like manner. He gets around them with ease and they look at his retreating form with surprise. "Thanks anyway!" He calls back as he runs into another hallway, this time only blocked by one guard. The guard blasts a fireball at him, but he avoids it by launching himself over the guard's head. Aang passes by while cutting his wrist bonds catching them on the horn on top of the guard's helmet. The bonds break and the guard gets thrown off balance and falls onto the floor. Aang, with his now free hands, makes a run for it. Aang opens up random doors as he goes by, the last one he opens it Iroh's room where he sleeps on his bed snoring. "Sorry…" He whispers while he closes the door. He then runs to another door, he opens it, but stops and turns back to it. "My staff!" He exclaims. He enters the room as the door shuts behind him. Zuko appears by the door having hidden in waiting for Avatar.  
"Looks like I underestimated you." Zuko comments after a brief pause, he begins blasting fire at Aang, as he barely dodges the attacks. He looks terrified and gasps panting to catch his breath. After dodging a few more shots at him, Aang rolls underneath Zuko to get behind him. Zuko is unable to blast him with his fire as the Avatar stays behind him. Aang and Zuko fight as Zuko releases another blast. Aang dissipates each fireball with a small air ball he forms with his hands. He creates an air scooter and rides it around the walls and ceiling of the room, all the time getting licked by the gouts of flame Zuko unleashes at him. Aang terminates the air ball and grabs a tapestry off the wall. He wraps Zuko up in it as he passes. While Zuko struggles against the tapestry, Aang grabs his staff. Zuko breaks free of his bonds and they once again square off against each other. After a few seconds of manoeuvring, Aang airbends a mattress up off the floor slamming it into Zuko. The mattress propels Zuko into the opposite wall. He smashes into it and falls to the floor, onto the mattress. Aang airbends the mattress up to the Zuko, smashing Zuko into that. Both fall back down to the ground. Zuko looks up in anger to find Aang gone.

* * *

On the bridge, where the wheel mechanism that opens a deck hatch on the floor begins to spin. The hatch opens to Aang airbending himself onto the bridge from below. Aang rushes forward out onto the bridge's observation deck, he opens his glider, throwing it into the air and jumps after it. He catches it, with a happy expression on his face but unfortunately for him, Zuko jumps after him in pursuit. With a fierce cry of desperation, Zuko grabs Aang's foot. Both get up and square off yet again. Aang's look of fear is tempered as he turns his head over his left shoulder to see Appa up in the sky gaining speed on Zuko's ship. "What is that?" Zuko asks as Appa approaches the ship.  
"Appa!" Aang shouts out, he turns just in time to use his staff blocking a fire blast from Zuko. Aang uses his staff like a helicopter to escape the blast and comes back down on the edge of the deck, almost falling overboard. He regains his balance and blows three more fireballs before his staff gets knocked away from him. He dodges a few more blasts before he's finally knocked overboard. Aang falls into the water below.  
"Aang! No!" Katara shouts hysterically as he sinks into the water. "Aang! Aang! AANG!" She screams as Aang's eyes and tattoo's glow a bright white, an expression of determination forming onto his face. He turns around in the water and begins to rise up towards the surface. Around him, a mighty whirlpool of water begins to form, Aang, at the centre of a now monstrous, inverted tornado of water propels towards the surface of the water with amazing speed. He breaks the surface in front of the ship, towering high over the bridge atop his swirling maelstrom of water. Zuko looks up at the swirling column of water as Rin stands next to him still wearing her helmet at the Avatar looking at him with dismay and fear on Zuko's face. Aang lands on the deck of the ship, his eyes still aglow, and bends the water from the column around him in a circle. He releases the water and it expands outward in a shock wave that blasts Zuko, Rin and the soldiers overboard. Sokka and Katara witness the scene from above on Appa's back. "Did you see what he just did?" She asks her brother.  
"Now that was some waterbending!" Sokka cheers for Aang as the kid on the foredeck, is on his knees, wobbling after the huge energy expenditure. He falls forward, the white energy fading from his eyes and tattoos. Appa lands on the foredeck, then Katara and Sokka jump off of his back to retrieve Aang.  
"Aang! Are you okay?" Katara asks her brother worried, she kneels down next him holding Aang, Sokka beside her.  
"Hey, Katara. Hey, Sokka. Thanks for coming." Aang says weakly.  
"Well, I couldn't let you have all the glory," Sokka tells him.  
"I dropped my staff." Aang points out.  
"Got it!" Sokka tells him running over to pick up Aang's staff. As Sokka picks it up, he's shocked to see that Zuko holds onto it on the other end as he holds onto Rin with her helmet having been knocked off from the fall when they were washed overboard. Sokka butts Zuko in the head with the staff three times. Zuko let's go of the staff and begins to fall into the water just as Rin lets go of his hand, she jumps up holding the edge of the ship, pulling herself up as Zuko holds onto the anchor chain in time hanging on with one hand. "Ha! That's from the Water Tribe!" Sokka cheers unaware of the two firebenders still hanging on to the ship. Appa gets up, shaking off some of the water, the guards that were washed off the ship get up, preparing for combat. Rin pushes herself up with them ready for a fight. Katara picks up a stream of water from the deck and the guards pull back slightly in fear.  
"Fight! You idiots!" Rin shouts gaining attention from everyone.  
"Who is that!" Sokka shouts out in shock at the beauty shouting at her men. Katara tries using a water whip at the guard, but instead freezes the water on the deck, including the water around Sokka's feet in the process.  
"Katara!" Sokka shouts at her as he tries chipping away at the ice holding his feet with his boomerang while the soldiers move towards them once again with Rin in the background. Katara picks up another stream of water and throws it at the soldiers without looking. She turns around and climbs back up on Appa.  
"Hurry up, Sokka!" Katara shouts for her brother.  
"I'm just a guy with a boomerang; I didn't ask for all this flying and magic," Sokka says to himself as he finally frees himself and makes a run for Appa, he makes it as he runs up his tail. "Yip yip! Yip yip!" He yells once he's aboard. Appa makes a rumbling noise and takes off. Iroh just emerges onto the deck after his nap and looks up to the sky.  
"Huh?" Iroh asks looking confused, as Appa rapidly flies away from the ship, then Iroh helps Zuko back up onto the ship's deck with Rin.  
"Shoot them down!" Rin orders her men as Appa gains altitude. Zuko, Rin and Iroh in unison launch a massive bolt of fire a mix of orange and purple up at Appa. Katara and Sokka look behind them in horror at the approaching fireball. Aang jumps to the back of the saddle and, uses his staff like a baseball bat, airbending a gale, that sends the fireball at a right angle away from Appa and into the ice cliff nearby. The fireball explodes, releasing a huge amount of ice from the cliff wall which falls into the narrow channel that the ship is navigating. Zuko gasps in horror as the bow of the ship and the entire channel is blocked up under an avalanche of ice before a large blast of purple flames bursts from the ice and snow. Aang, Katara and Sokka laugh as they fly away but stop when they see the burst of purple flames erupt up from the avalanche of snow in shock and horror as Rin pulls herself out from the snow. Iroh and Zuko on the foredeck of the heavily damaged ship look at her monstrous aura around her.  
"Good news for the Fire Lord. The nation's greatest threat is just a little kid." Iroh comments.  
"That kid, Uncle, just did this," Zuko tells him pointing to the prow buried in ice. "I won't underestimate him again." He says.  
"Dig this ship out and follow them!" Rin yells at her men as she walks out of the snow. Some of the soldiers use controlled firebending to thaw out their companions from the ice by Katara. "As soon as you're done with that." She says calming down slightly.

* * *

Appa flies through the clouds in the sky as the kids sit on the saddle. "How did you do that? With the water? It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen." Katara asks Aang.  
"I don't know. I just sort of... did it." Aang answers her sitting cross-legged on the bridge of the saddle with a sad expression on her face.  
"Why didn't you tell us you were the Avatar?" She asks him.  
"Because... I never wanted to be." He tells her as a cloud passes over them blocking out the fading sun. Once it passes, they enter a shaft of sunlight.  
"But Aang, the world's been waiting for the Avatar to return and finally put an end to this war." She tells him.  
"And how am I going to do that?" He asks looking sad.  
"According to legend, you need to first master water, then earth, then fire, right?" She asks him.  
"That's what the monks told me." He says.  
"Well, if we go to the North Pole you can master waterbending." She tells him.  
"We can learn it together!" He says looking happier now.  
"And Sokka, I'm sure you'll get to knock some firebender heads on the way." She tells her brother.  
"I'd like that. I'd really like that." Sokka replies looking almost in a dream-like state.  
"Then we're in this together." She tells them.  
"All right, but before I learn waterbending, we have some serious business to attend to (he airbends himself over to them and opens the scroll to reveal a map) here, here, and here," Aang tells them pointing to two spots in the Earth Kingdom, and one other spot in the Southern Air Nomad islands.  
"What's there?" She asks him.  
"Here," He says looking at the eastern Earth Kingdom. "we'll ride the hopping llamas. Then waaaay over here" He points to a spot on the Southern Air Nomad islands. "we'll surf on the backs of giant koi fish. Then back over here we'll ride the hog-monkeys. They don't like people riding them, but that's what makes it fun!" He tells them then mellows down looking at the two Water Tribe siblings. "What I want to know was, who was the girl with the purple flames? I've never seen or heard of anything like that." Aang comments looking between them.  
"I think I have. Dad once heard rumours of a child General with flames of violet, they took down countless enemies of the Fire Nation. They moved up the ranks so fast as they took down enemies, they grew in power not just for being a firebending master but for their deadly weapon. They call it The Violet Blade General." Sokka tells them, the thoughts of her powerful flames stay in their minds as Appa flies through the clouds at sunset, shafts of sunlight fading light breaking through the clouds.

* * *

Back on the Fire Nation Navy ship in a room sits Rin in her chair at her desk looking over some papers. "Well, Iroh was right. He is just a kid. The kid's the Avatar? And I will crush him." Rin mutters to herself before getting up from her chair and walks out of her room up to the deck where all her men stand with Zuko and Iroh stand next to her.|  
"General Rin on deck!" A soldier shouts out as her men stand to attention.  
"We all know now that the Avatar is alive. He maybe a child but we must think of him as a powerful enemy and show him no mercy!" Rin shouts out to her men. "We will begin by finding him at the nearest islands and if they do not tell us of his location then they will see what happens to liars. We are the best of the best and we can only do that as Fire Nation Soldiers, are we not Fire Nation soldiers!" She shouts out again.  
"We are Fire Nation soldiers!" The soldiers shout back.  
"Then we will find the Avatar and take him back to our Firelord. Have we understood men?" She asks them.  
"Yes, General Rin." They all reply back.  
"Then let us set sail for the closest island and fix our ship so we can find our ship. If any of you wish to go back home do not betray me." She tells them as one of her soldiers moves to her side giving her, her a double-edged scythe, she swipes it down giving a gust of wind pushing the first line of soldiers to fall onto their backs. "So begin preparations for the shipping yard." She orders them, they disperse and go their own ways leaving Zuko, Iroh and her alone on the deck.  
"That was very well done General Rin." Iroh compliments her, she turns around to face him moving her scythe to lean against her shoulder.  
"I would hope so, Ex-General Iroh I have been doing this for seven years now. Leading men into battle." Rin replies looking at Zuko. "It will soon be you Zuko. When you become Firelord." She tells him. "Got a nice ring to it, Firelord Zuko." She walks away off to the lower levels of the ship.


	4. Grumpy Vs Prideful

_"Water... Earth... Fire... Air…" Katara voices over as the benders demonstrate as she talks. "My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of peace when the Avatar kept the balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked." It journeys into the map showing the world and closes in on a bender displaying all the elements. "Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless firebenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished." He disappears from sight. "A hundred years have passed and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe." It shows the Water Tribe men on their boats and Katara hugging her older brother Sokka holding up a lantern. "Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle is broken, but I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow the Avatar will return to save the world."_

 **Grumpy Vs Prideful - And Pride Always Falls**

The sun is rising over a lake, where Appa and the group rest on the lake shore. Sokka sleeps in his Water Tribe sleeping bag on the ground. Appa stands, grazing slowly, while a small fire casts a plume of smoke and Aang sits in the driver's seat. Katara is up in the saddle doing something. "Wait 'til you see it, Katara. The Air Temple is one of the most beautiful places in the world." Aang tells Katara adjusting the reign.  
"Aang, I know you're excited, but it's been a hundred years since you've been home," Katara tells him cautiously.  
"That's why I'm so excited!" He exclaims.  
"It's just that a lot can change in all that time." She points out.  
"I know, but I need to see it for myself." He tells her and floats down from Appa's back and walks over to Sokka, who snores peacefully in his sleep. "Wake up, Sokka! Air Temple, here we come!" He cheers, Sokka awakens from his sleep, making groggy noises.  
"Sleep now... temple later…" Sokka says sleepily and rolls over beginning to snore again. Aang blinks, clearly not pleased with Sokka's actions when a mischievous grin spreads across his face as he gets an idea. Aang picks up a stick from the ground as Katara watches him from the saddle on Appa's back.  
"Sokka! Wake up!" Aang orders Sokka as he begins to run the stick-up and down the sleeping bag. "There's a prickle snake in your sleeping bag!" He yells out in fake warning.  
"Aaahhh! Get it off! Get it off! Aaahhh!" Sokka cries out startled jumping around in his sleeping bag until he loses his balance and falls flat on his face. Katara laughs at him, he looks at them with irritation.  
"Great! You're awake. Let's go." Aang says poking his head out from behind Sokka.

* * *

At the Fire Nation Ship Yard, tents and buildings lined on the right side and ships on the left with a railroad line running down the middle, with the damaged ship which is much smaller than the other Fire Nation ships. The prow of the ship has been opened, it's spout lying on the floor of the navy yard. Three figures walk down the spout and enter the shipyard itself. It's, Zuko, Iroh and Rin walking into the yard. "Uncle, I want the repairs made as quickly as possible. I don't want to stay too long and risk losing his trail." Zuko tells his Uncle while Rin looks through her notes in her hands not paying much attention.  
"You mean the Avatar?" Iroh asks him.  
"Don't mention his name on these docks! Once word gets out that he's alive every firebender will be out looking for him and I don't want anyone getting in the way." Zuko tells him angrily turning to him.  
"Getting in the way of what, Prince Zuko?" Commander Zhao asks him walking over to them. Rin hears his voice, she lifts her head up as they all turn to face him. Zhao approaches them, still talking with his hands clasped behind his back trying to show his authority.  
"Captain Zhao," Zuko says with distaste on his tongue.  
"It's Commander now," Rin tells him glaring at the man.  
"General Iroh-" Zhao says bowing to him. "- the great hero of our nation. And General Rin another hero to our nation." Zhao bows again.  
"Retired general." Iroh points out to him.  
"The Fire Lord's brother and son are welcome guests anytime and of course you too General Rin. What brings you to my harbour?" Zhao asks them.  
"Our ship is being repaired," Rin tells him as Iroh gestures to the heavily damaged bow of the ship.  
"That's quite a bit of damage." Zhao comments.  
"Yes... you wouldn't believe what happened," Zuko tells him but gives his Uncle a sideways glance. "Uncle! Tell Commander Zhao what happened." Zuko tells him when a soldier runs over whispering something into Rin's ear, she looks down at her notes and walks off with the soldier. Iroh's eyes go wide as he blinks in response to the burden Zuko put onto him.  
"Yes, I will do that. It was incredible." Iroh says leaning over to Zuko. "What... did we crash or something?" He whispers.  
"Uh, yes! Right into an Earth Kingdom ship." Zuko lies.  
"Really? You must regale me with all the thrilling details." Zhao tells them smiling and puts his face right up to Zuko's in an obvious challenge. "Join me for a drink?" He asks them.  
"Sorry, but we have to go." Zuko declines and turns to leave, but Iroh places a hand on his shoulder and stops him.  
"Prince Zuko, show Commander Zhao your respect," Iroh tells his nephew and turns to Zhao. "We would be honoured to join you. Do you have any ginseng tea? It's my favourite." He asks, Zuko growls in frustration and releases fire from his fists in anger as he turns to follow Zhao and Iroh down to the docks.

* * *

In the sky above somewhere Appa flies through the clouds, with Aang and Katara up front, Sokka in the passenger saddle. Sokka's stomach growls showing his hunger. "Hey, stomach, be quiet, all right? I'm trying to find us some food." Sokka tells it annoyed. He searches his food bag and dumps it out onto his glove, but only a few crumbs come out. "Hey! Who ate all my blubbered seal jerky?" He asks the others.  
"Oh, that was food? I used it to start the campfire last night. Sorry." Aang tells him.  
"You WHAT? Awww, no wonder the flames smelled so good." Sokka groans, then Appa swoops towards some mountains.  
"The Batola mountain range! We're almost there!" Aang cheers.  
"Aang? Before we get to the temple, I want to talk to you about the airbenders." Katara tells him uneasily.  
"What about 'em?" Aang asks her.  
"Well, I just want you to be prepared for what you might see. The Fire Nation is ruthless. They killed my mother and they could have done the same to your people." Katara tells him.  
"because no one has seen an Airbender doesn't mean the Fire Nation killed them all. They probably escaped." Aang tells her with a face of hopeful optimism.  
"I know it's hard to accept," Katara says.  
"You don't understand, Katara. The only way to get to an Airbender temple is on a flying bison, and I doubt the Fire Nation has any flying bison. Right, Appa?" Aang tells her rubbing Appa's head who grunts an affirmative. "Yip yip!" He exclaims. Appa flies them up higher, turning tightly around a mountain face. Katara and Sokka strain themselves against the wind shear the faster they move. Appa flies up over a rocky outcrop and treetops to reveal the tall spires of the Southern Air Temple behind it. "There it is... the Southern Air Temple." He tells them.  
"Aang, it's amazing!" Katara tells him.  
"We're home, buddy. We're home." Aang tells Appa.

* * *

Back at the Fire Nation shipyard, with the ship's revealing a wooden stockade and many Fire Nation tents behind it. One, in particular, is larger, with a prominent Fire Nation symbol on it. Two guards, flank by the large standing firepots, standing at the ready in front of the tent. In the large tent where Commander Zhao stands with his back to them, as he inspects the large map of the world up on the wall. "And by year's end, the Earth Kingdom capital will be under our rule," Zhao tells them as Iroh inspects a stand of weapons on the wall to the left and Zuko sits in one of two chairs in front of Zhao and he turns to Zuko. "The Fire Lord will finally claim victory in this war." He says.  
"If my father thinks the rest of the world will follow him willingly, then he is a fool," Zuko tells him as Zhao sits in the chair next to Zuko.  
"Two years at sea have done little to temper your tongue. So, how is your search for the Avatar going?" Zhao asks him, as Iroh tips over the stand of weapons he was examining, but the distraction brings the conversation to a halt. Iroh cringes at the mess he has made.  
"My fault entirely," Iroh says looking at everyone embarrassed he sheepishly back away as Zhao watches him move.  
"We haven't found him yet." Zuko slightly lies, as it wasn't a full lie as he had found the Avatar but at the moment couldn't find him.  
"Did you really expect to? The Avatar died a hundred years ago along with the rest of the airbenders." Zhao taunts him as Zuko averts his eyes guiltily. "Unless you found some evidence that the Avatar is alive."  
"No. Nothing." Zuko lies not looking at him.  
"Prince Zuko, the Avatar is the only one who can stop the Fire Nation from winning this war. If you have an ounce-" Zhao says rising up from his chair and leans his face into Zuko's "-of loyalty left, you'll tell me what you've found."  
"I haven't found anything. It's like you said. The Avatar probably died a long time ago. Come on, Uncle, we're going." Zuko says defiantly and gets up trying to exit the tent, but he gets blocked by guards as they cross their spears in front of him. Another guard approaches Zhao to deliver his report.  
"Commander Zhao, we interrogated the crew as you instructed while General Rin was distracted. They confirmed General Rin and Prince Zuko had the Avatar in custody, but let him escape." One of the guards tells him.  
"Now, remind me…" Zhao starts as Zuko's exit is blocked by the guards as Zhao comes up behind him. "... how exactly was your ship damaged?" He asks and Zuko looks down at his feet in defeat.

* * *

It was the Southern Air Nomad Temple, Appa stands on a landing platform with a path leading up a winding path curving back and forth across the rock face of the temple's mountain. The three teens walk up towards the temple, Aang races ahead of the others. Aang races off as Katara and Sokka round the bend. "So where do I get something to eat?" Sokka asks him as he clutches his stomach in hunger.  
"You're lucky enough to be one of the first outsiders to ever visit an Airbender temple and all you can think about is food?" Aang asks him not getting Sokka at all.  
"I'm just a simple guy with simple needs," Sokka tells him as Aang stops at the edge of the path letting the other two catch up to him, once they catch up he points below them.  
"So that's where my friends and I would play airball!" Aang tells them gesturing at a small parapet cut into the rock face below. There wasn't anything there but a thicket of densely packed sticks of varying heights that have been stuck in the ground. There was a goal with a backboard occupies either end of the field. "And... over there would be where the bison would sleep... and…" He trails off and sighs.  
"What's wrong?" Katara asks him.  
"This place used to be full of monks and lemurs and bison. Now there's just a bunch of weeds." Aang replies looking sad. "I can't believe how much things have changed." Katara and Sokka look at each other than changing the subject, hurrying up to him.  
"So, uh, this airball game? How do you play?" Sokka asks him and Aang smiles.

Sokka stands with a backboard behind him, looking ready for action with Aang on the opposite backboard behind him. Aang bends air around rapidly a rapidly spinning ball to keep it floating above his outstretched right hand. Suddenly, Aang starts manipulating the ball, then throws it up into the air over his head. Sokka follows the ball with his eyes, Aang puts his hands behind his back, and closes his eyes and smiles, waiting for the ball to come back down. He cracks one eye open and bends the air at the right moment to send the ball bouncing through the field of sticks like a pinball game. Sokka watches the ball ricochet towards him at amazing speed. The ball hits him in the stomach and he goes flying through the rotating door in the backboard behind him and hits the ground. "Hahaha! Aang seven, Sokka zero!" Aang cheers showing the score with his fingers.  
"Making him feel better is putting me in a world of hurt." Sokka groans in pain getting up from the ground then he sees something that stops in his tracks and walks over to it. It was a Fire Nation soldier helmet lying on the ground, Sokka crawls over to it. "Katara, check this out." He tells her.  
"Fire Nation," Katara says accusingly.  
"We should tell him," Sokka tells her  
"Aang, there's something you need to see," Katara calls him.  
"Okay!" Aang yells back happily as he walks over. Katara looks back and forth between the helmet and to Aang unsure whether to show him the horrible discovery. Making her choice, she waterbends the snow on the bank above down onto both the helmet and Sokka. "What is it?" He asks.  
"Uh... just a new waterbending move I learned," Katara tells him uncertainly.  
"Nice one. But enough practising. We have a whole temple to see! " Aang tells her walking off. Sokka wipes the snow off his shoulders and head.  
"You know, you can't protect him forever," Sokka warns her.

* * *

The entrance gate of the Air Temple itself, Aang runs in alone leaving Sokka and Katara a moment alone to speak. "Katara, firebenders were here. You can't pretend they weren't." Sokka tells her.  
"I can for Aang's sake," Katara tells him walking away and Sokka comes up behind her and they walk together. "If he finds out that the Fire Nation invaded his home, he'll be devastated." She tells her.  
"Hey, guys!" Aang calls out to them motioning towards a statue of an Airbender monk. "I want you to meet somebody." He tells them.  
"Who's that?" Sokka asks him.  
"Monk Gyatso, the greatest Airbender in the world. He taught me everything I know." Aang tells them and bows to the statue.

* * *

A hundred years ago when the temple was full of Air Nomads with Monk Gyatso with Aang bowing at him. "But the true secret…" Monk Gyatso says as he holds a long spatula with a cake on the end. He pulls out the cake from the mouth of the large oven, he airbends the colourful filling into an attractive pile in the middle of it. "... is in the gooey centre!" He tells Aang who seems preoccupied, sitting on the wall of the parapet.  
"Hmm…" Aang hums.  
"My ancient cake making technique isn't the only thing on your mind, is it, Aang?" Monk Gyatso asks the young Avatar.  
"This whole Avatar thing... maybe the monks made a mistake," Aang tells him.  
"The only mistake they made was telling you before you turned sixteen. But we can't concern ourselves with what was. We must act on what is." Monk Gyatso tells him gesturing to the world around them where they stood you could see the Air Nomad temple full of flying bisons and other nomads, it was beautiful dreamlike surrounding them it was so full of life.  
"But Gyatso, how do I know if I'm ready for this?" Aang asks him.  
"Your questions will be answered when you are old enough to enter the Air Temple sanctuary. Inside you will meet someone who will guide you on your journey." Monk Gyatso tells him.  
"Who is it?" Aang asks him excitedly jumping up and down.  
"When you are ready he will reveal himself to you." Monk Gyatso tells him but all Aang does is sigh heavily in frustration. "Now, are you going to help me with these cakes, or not?" He asks.  
"All right." Aang smiles, they both assume an airbending stance, with the four cakes sitting on the wall. They both tilt back, creating a ball of wind.  
"One... two... three!" Monk Gyatso counts down, they both release their airballs at the same time, propelling the cakes high into the air. They make a whizzing noise as they come down. At the same time, four monks sat meditating, who find themselves wearing each of the four cakes and winged lemurs surround them feasting on the cakes and the two troublemakers laugh. They then bow to each other respectfully. Monk Gyatso pats Aang on the head affectionately. "Your aim has improved greatly my young pupil." He praises Aang.

* * *

Aang is still bowing to the statue of Monk Gyatso. "You must miss him," Katara says putting a hand on his comfort.  
"Yeah," Aang says walks away going into the temple.  
"Where are you going?" Katara asks him.  
"The Air Temple Sanctuary. There's someone I'm ready to meet." Aang tells her making his way up the steps., Katara looks at Sokka who shrugs. They approach the entrance to the Air Temple Sanctuary, it had a huge wooden door that was dominated by an enormous woodcut comprised of three air symbols protruding from its surface. They're arranged in a triangular pattern, the symbols are attached to tubes that end in two horns near the bottom of the woodcut.  
"But Aang... no one could have survived in there for a hundred years." Katara argues trying to reason with him.  
"It's not impossible. I survived in the iceberg for that long." Aang reasons.  
"Good point." She agrees.  
"Katara, whoever's in there might help me figure out this Avatar thing!" Aang tells them.  
"And whoever's in there might have a medley of delicious, cured meats!" Sokka cheers poking out from behind Aang, he rubs his hands together in anticipation of the food that might await him. He rushes towards the doors and runs into it. He strains against the big door but to no avail sliding down the floor in defeat. "I don't suppose you have a key?" He asks.  
"The key, Sokka, is airbending," Aang tells him then there's a flash of light and he composes himself then draws in his breath. He raises both his arms out from his body, then suddenly pushes forward with his arms and steps forward with his right leg. He airbends two jets of air, from each arm, into the horns at the bottom of the woodcut. The air runs through the tubes, one by one flipping the air symbols from the blue sides, As each turns, it flips another mechanism on the outside of the door unlock it. The two leaves of the door open to reveal the dark, cavernous interior of the Air Temple Sanctuary. "Hello? Anyone home?" He calls out walking into the dark room, the Water Tribe siblings follow behind him.

* * *

Back at the Fire Nation Shipyard in Commander Zhao's tent, Zhao crosses in front of a very unhappy Prince Zuko as a pair of guards stand behind Zuko while Rin was being held back by five soldiers and Iroh sat down nearby. "So, a twelve-year-old boy bested you and your firebenders? You're more pathetic than I thought." Zhao taunts them.  
"I underestimated him once, but it will not happen again," Zuko tells him.  
"No, it will not, because you won't have a second chance," Zhao argues.  
"Commander Zhao, I've been hunting the Avatar for two years and I…" Zuko tells him alarmed at the prospect of his chance of going home being taken away. Zhao turns to him angrily, flames erupting from his hand as he sweeps it in an arc.  
"And you failed!" Zhao yells at him as he towers over Zuko. "Capturing the Avatar is too important to leave in a teenager's hands. He's mine now." Zuko launches himself at Zhao in frustration and anger, but he gets restrained by the two guards standing behind his chair. "Keep them here." He tells the guards. Zuko kicks over the small table near Iroh in an act of frustration, it breaks into pieces but Iroh just watches on calmly while Rin struggles against the soldiers.  
"More tea please?" Iroh asks still calm as could be.  
"Button it!" Rin yells at him still struggling against the soldiers.  
"Get more soldiers!" One of the soldier's orders as Rin gets more vicious.  
"Yeah, then I'll kill them too!" She yells out as one of the soldiers runs out of the tent in fear.

* * *

With Aang, Sokka, and Katara walk into the sanctuary there were statues everywhere in a pattern. The pattern tied to a swirl pattern on the floor with the statues arrayed along it. The three walk among the statues, heading into the centre of the room. "Statues?! That's it? Where's the meat?" Sokka asks looking around.  
"Who are all these people?" Katara asks.  
"I'm not sure, but it feels like I know them somehow. Look!" Aang says and points to one of the statues. "That one's an Airbender!"  
"And this one's a waterbender. They're lined up in a pattern. Air, water, earth and fire." She points out.  
"That's the Avatar cycle." He states.  
"Of course! They're Avatars. All these people are your past lives, Aang." She tells him.  
"Wow! There's so many!" Aang exclaims.  
"Past lives? Katara, you really believe in that stuff?" Sokka asks his sister.  
"It's true. When the Avatar dies he's reincarnated into the next nation in the cycle." She tells him as Aang stops in front of one of the statues, it was a firebender Avatar. A light passes over its eyes. Katara stands behind Aang shaking him by the shoulder. "Aang, snap out of it!" She tells him.  
"Huh?" Aang says in a daze.  
"Who is that?" She asks him.  
"That's Avatar Roku, the Avatar before me." He tells her.  
"You were a firebender? No wonder I didn't trust you when we first met." Sokka teases him.  
"There's no writing. How do you know his name?" She asks him.  
"I'm not sure... I just know it somehow." Aang tells her unsure of it himself, he just knew.  
"You just couldn't get any weirder!" Sokka groans in frustration. They sense the presence of someone else here and turn to look at the entrance of the sanctuary. A long-eared shadow advances towards them, but the three are huddled behind two of the statues. Aang and Katara behind one on the left, Sokka behind one on the right. The shadow advances between the two statues, the look of fright on their faces. "Firebender. Nobody make a sound." He whispers.  
"You're making a sound!" She whispers shouts at him.  
"Shhhh!" Aang and Sokka ssh her as the shadow advance some more.  
"That firebender won't know what hit 'em," Sokka whispers getting his weapon at the ready, the long-eared shadow right on top of them. It was really small animal in the doorway who just casts a lengthy shadow due to the angle of the sun. The two come around to look to see what it was, they blink their eyes, each registering the diminutive stature of the adorable intruder. It was a winged lemur looking at them with wide eyes, his long ears flopped down on his back as he sees the others staring at him. He blinks his eyes.  
"Lemur!" Aang exclaims in pure happiness at the fact something of his old life was still alive besides Appa.  
"Dinner…" Sokka drools feeling his hunger grow.  
"Don't listen to him! You're going to be my new pet." Aang tells him trying to save the little guy.  
"Not if I get him first!" Sokka tells him as they both lunge at the small animal. They rapidly close in on the lemur but he bristles like a cat and dashes away from them, screaming and they both run after the lemur bolting out of the temple.  
"Wait! Come back!" Aang calls out.  
"I wanna eat you!" Sokka yells out, they run back down the hallway from the Temple Sanctuary, chasing after the lemur. Both take turns leading the other while they run, Sokka takes a swipe at Aang's legs with his weapon, but Aang uses his airbending skills to run along the wall beside Sokka and passes him, laughing as he does. Once he was far enough ahead he stops and turns around and launches another airball spinning back to Sokka. It hits him in the stomach and knocks him off of his feet, he groans at the impact and falls flat on his face, his hood falling over his head.

The lemur jumps off the guardrail of the balcony, as Aang approaches, then jumps off after him as he jumps off, he just laughs it off as he falls, bouncing off the rocks beneath him as he continues to chase the lemur. Sokka finally reaches the balcony, he leans over to see Aang falling down the side. "Hey! No Fair!" Sokka shouts down to him, Aang's eyes water up from the speed of his body and smile widely.

* * *

Commander Zhao approaches the exterior of the large tent, he opens the flaps and enters the tent. Two guards stand at the ready inside the entrance their spears drawn back. "My search party is ready," Zhao announces to Iroh, Zuko and Rin as they sit in their chairs facing each other (Rin was tied to hers). "Once I'm out to sea, my guards will escort you back to your ship and you'll be free to go." He tells them.  
"Why? Are you worried I'm going to try and stop you?" Zuko asks him looking at Rin who nods her head as she could talk with her mouth taped up as she kept shouting and cursing at the guards.  
"You? Stop me? Impossible." Zhao laughs at the idea of Zuko outsmarting him, he was more scared of Rin.  
"Don't underestimate me, Zhao. I will capture the Avatar before you." Zuko stands up in defiance.  
"Prince Zuko, that's enough!" Iroh scolds him standing up to stop his nephew.  
"You can't compete with me. I have hundreds of warships under my command, and you... you're just a banished prince. No home. No allies. Your own father doesn't even want you." Zhao taunts him.  
"You're wrong. Once I deliver the Avatar to my father he will welcome me home with honour and restore my rightful place on the throne." Zuko argues getting more and more frustrated.  
"If your father really wanted you home, he'd have let you return by now, Avatar or no Avatar, but in his eyes, you are a failure and a disgrace to the Fire Nation," Zhao tells him.  
"That's not true," Zuko argues.  
"You have the scar to prove it." Zhao taunts him.  
"Maybe you'd like one to match!" Zuko launches himself to his feet, he brings his face within inches of Zhao's.  
"Is that a challenge?" Zhao asks him.  
"An agni kai. At sunset." Zuko tells him.  
"Very well. It's a shame your father won't be here to watch me humiliate you. I guess your uncle and General Rin will do." Zhao says and walks back out of the tent.  
"Prince Zuko, have you forgotten what happened last time you duelled a master?" Iroh asks his nephew.  
"I will never forget," Zuko tells him, he walks over to Rin and takes off all of the ropes, she gets up and smacks him over the head. "Hey! What was that for? I just untied you." He protests.

"Maybe so but you're an idiot. Last time didn't end so well. Think with your head and not with your ego." Rin scolds him. "I've fought Commander Zhao before it was easy for me, but I'm a master firebender. You're practically a novice."  
"I will win," Zuko tells her.  
"Being full of yourself makes it easier for you then I'll let you believe you can win." She tells him and moves over to Zhao's table looking over all the papers scattered around.

* * *

At the temple on the top of the mountain, there is a stone clearing that has an ascending stone staircase. The lemur that has Aang chasing him, he lands on the ground. Aang pounces on the lemur but misses as the lemur runs through a curtain made of decaying tent material. "Hey! Come back!" Aang yells to him and follows the lemur to the other side of the curtain. "Come on out, little lemur. That hungry guy won't bother you anymore." He tells the lemur, he approaches another drape and walks through. He draws a sharp breath, he's started at what he sees. There were heaps of Fire Nation uniforms and skeletons covering the floor of the decaying building. "Firebenders? They were here?" He asks himself surprised at what he was seeing. At the back lies the skeletal remains of an Airbender monk, bathed in the sunlight coming from above, who had apparently fallen down in combat against the great odds. Aang looks focuses his eyes on the Airbender's necklace and it was Monk Gyatso's. "Gyatso…" He says lowly falling to his knees in devastation.  
"Hey Aang, you find my dinner yet?" Sokka asks making his way into the decaying tent, he sees Aang, with his head in his hands crying to himself. "Aang, I wasn't really going to eat the lemur, okay?" He says then he sees the skeleton in front of the young Airbender. "Oh, man... come on, Aang, everything will be all right. Let's get out of here." Sokka puts his hand on Aang's shoulder as the arrow on his head begins to glow a light blue again. Aang's eyes glow brightly with his face full of anger as he lifts his head, this shocks Sokka he gasps at the movement looking on in alarm.

* * *

Katara walks among the statues in the Temple Sanctuary, she stops in her tracks in front of Roku, whose eyes light up with the same light blue light as Aang's had. The eyes of all the other statues light up in order around the room all the way to the top. "Aang!" She shouts in worry and races out of the room. All over the world in the Earth, Water, and Fire temples scattered around, lights flash in response to the awakening of Aang's avatar spirit.

* * *

In the Fire temple, an old Fire sage leans out to say something to another sage outside of the room where the signal is emanating from. "Send word to the Fire Lord immediately. The Avatar has returned!" The old sage yells out and the other sage looks back at him in fright.

* * *

Back at the base of the temple where Aang mourns over the body of his old teacher Monk Gyatso. At Aang's feet, a whirlwind begins to form, air swirling fast around the bones lying on the ground, his hands ball up into fists and his eyes and arrow glowing, the wind picks up at a terrible speed around him. "Aang! Come on, snap out of it!" Sokka yells at him as Aang gets surrounded by a light blue sphere of energy and begins to expand, knocking Sokka back out of the building making him scream in the process.

The energy sphere expands to the point where it blows most of the building apart sending smoke and debris high into the air. Sokka lands outside of the building safe from the debris. Katara joins Sokka behind some rubble, as they both shield their faces from the wind Aang is creating. "What happened?" Katara asks her brother over the wind.  
"He found out firebenders killed Gyatso," Sokka answers her.  
"Oh no, it's his avatar spirit! He must have triggered it! I'm gonna try and calm him down." She tells him.  
"Well, do it before he blows us off the mountain!" He tells her hanging onto some of the rubble, trying not to get blown away. Katara slowly approaches Aang, struggling against the harsh wind, as Aang and his energy sphere slowly rising into the air.

* * *

At a Fire Nation arena, it was a simple four-walled structure with watch fires on the four towers at each corner with one large open gate. The sun was setting with a glorious mixture of Fire Nation hues, inside the arena where Zhao and Zuko kneel, preparing themselves for the battle, Zhao is with four of his men in attendance, while Zuko has his Uncle and Rin. "Remember your firebending basics, Prince Zuko. They are your greatest weapons." Iroh reminds him.  
"Try to find his weakest point," Rin advises him.  
"I refuse to let him win," Zuko tells them and stands up, his shoulder wrap falls to the ground as Zhao stands and turns to face Zuko when his shoulder wrap falls to the ground, as well.  
"This will be over quickly," Zhao states, as atop the gate a gong sounds signalling the start of the fight. Both men face each other assuming firebending stances, Zuko fires the first shot which passes by Zhao's left side. He fires again, this time it passes by Zhao's right. Zuko fires several more shots, the last of which Zhao blocks, satisfaction evident on his smug face. This frustrates Zuko as he loses control of his breathing, he moves towards Zhao, unleashing more fire from both his hands and feet. Zhao dodges and blocks them all, then crouches forward and shoots a flame at a point on the ground close in front of him.  
"Basics, Zuko! Break his root!" Iroh shouts out to his nephew. Zhao fires more volleys of fire, alternating between his fists. Zuko blocks each of them but is slowly forced back. On the last volley, Zhao uses both of his hands, knocking Zuko over sending him skidding backwards onto the dirt. Zhao fires right at him, Zuko rolls out of the way just in time, as he gets up sweeping Zhao's feet out from under him.

Zuko lands on his feet, he smiles slightly at this then advances towards Zhao, using his feet to produce small waves of flame that rushes towards Zhao. Zhao gets caught off balance and wobbles slowly backwards as Iroh clenches his fist as an expression of hope, with a smile beginning to spread over his face. Back with Zuko, with Zhao finally laying out flat on the ground with a blast of fire. Zuko rushes up to him, prepared to deal the final blow. "Do it!" Zhao yells at him but Zuko releases a blast of flame shooting it. He stands up straight, dropping his fighting stance. His shot had left a smoking hole in the ground, next to an unharmed Zhao. "That's it? Your father raised a coward." He taunts Zuko.  
"Next time you get in my way, I promise I won't hold back," Zuko promises him as he turns his back and begins to walk away. Zhao gets up with a howl of anger, unleashes a whip of fire at Zuko, it rushes towards Zuko's back. Zhao outstretches his foot, wreathing in the fire it has released. The flame extinguished and a hand closes over a foot where Iroh moved between them to stop the attack. They all remain frozen for a moment before Iroh hurls Zhao back into the dirt with little effort, Zuko tries to rush to avenge the insult but is stopped by Rin.

"No, Prince Zuko. Do not taint your victory." Iroh tells him and turns to face Zhao, of a look on his face. "So this is how the great Commander Zhao acts in defeat. Disgraceful." He says to him. "Even in exile, my nephew is more honourable than you." He comments this get a look of surprise from Zuko. "Thanks again for the tea. It was delicious." Iroh moves to leave with Zuko following close behind while Rin stays behind. Zhao watches the two exit the gate of the arena then looks around for Rin but she seems to have disappeared.  
"Commander Zhao!" One of the guards shouts out to him in panic. Zhao feels a deadly present from behind him, he turns sharply to see Rin behind him with her scythe in hand.  
"I really dislike scum like you." She tells him in a menacing voice that sends chills down his spine. She swipes her blade of the scythe down the half of Zhao, he cries out in fear, his men shout out too but nothing happens. "Next time I'll go a few centimetres closer, so I don't miss." She taunts him and walks past him to join up with Iroh and Zuko who were waiting for her outside the gate. She catches up to them and they continue walking back to the ship.  
"Did you really mean that, Uncle?" Zuko asks his uncle in a quiet voice.  
"Of course. I told you ginseng tea is my favourite." Iroh replies slyly knowing what his nephew at meant.

* * *

Still suspended in mid-air inside the ball of raw energy Aang created, the contained storm continues to rage on. Katara and Sokka cling desperately to the rocks of the mountain. "Aang, I know you're upset…" Katara says trying to calm him down. " ... and I know how hard it is to lose the people you love. I went through the same thing when I lost my mom. Monk Gyatso and the other airbenders may be gone, but you still have a family. Sokka and I, we're your family now." This seems to work as he begins to descend once she finishes. His feet gently alight on the ground. The wind dies down then stops, Aang's eyes and arrow still aglow. Katara and Sokka comes up on either side of him.  
"Katara and I aren't going to let anything happen to you. Promise." Sokka tells him, she takes one of Aang's hands into her own. The glow instantly fades from his eyes and arrow markings. He collapses in grief and exhaustion into Katara's arms and she holds him around his shoulders as they kneel on the ground.  
"I'm sorry," Aang says in a tired voice.  
"It's okay. It wasn't your fault." She tells him.  
"But you were right. And if firebenders found this temple that means they found the other ones, too. I really am the last Airbender." He says sadly, but she just holds him tighter and Sokka puts a hand on Aang's shoulder trying to show him he was there for him too.

Back at the Temple Sanctuary, where Aang stands once again in front of the statue of Avatar Roku, Katara comes up behind him. "Everything's packed. You ready to go?" She asks him.  
"How is Roku supposed to help me if I can't talk to him?" Aang asks him looking up at him.  
"Maybe you'll find a way." She tells him and they both turn around to see a familiar furry creature in the temple doorway. It was the lemur, he runs over to Sokka and deposits a bunch of fruits and nuts at his feet. Sokka begins eating hungrily as the lemur dashes away. Aang and Katara watch on with smiles on their faces.  
"Looks like you made a new friend, Sokka." Aang smiles.  
"Can't talk. Must eat." Sokka says with his mouth full still eating.  
"Hey, little guy," Aang says to him as he scurries up Aang's chest and perches on top of his head.

Outside of the Temple Appa, Aang and the lemur look out at the abandoned Air Nomad temple. "You, me, and Appa. We're all that's left of this place. We have to stick together. Katara, Sokka…" Aang says and sees Katara and Sokka, who has his mouth still full, and fruit in his hand. "... say hello to the newest member of our family." Aang approaches them both, with the lemur on his arm.  
"What are you going to name him?" Katara asks Aang.  
"Momo." He answers as the lemur jumps off and returns a second later with more fruit. Sokka tries taking a bite into a fruit that is no longer in his hand. Aang and Katara start laughing at him,

As Appa flies away, Aang watches the temple recede into the distance, he looks back with sadness as the clouds finally hiding his childhood home from his view once again.

* * *

On the deck of the now fixed ship, Rin stands in front of a group of soldiers scolding them. "I do not take betrayal lightly," Rin tells her men looking at them. "So I will be leaving those who decided to tell Commander Zhao about what had happened. Who had gone against my orders to tell no one." She walks over to Zuko and Iroh as three soldiers move forward from the group and walk off the ship. "Let's make this a message to anyone who thinks that I will not find out then you are mistaken. I will always find out unless I am dead you will obey my every order." She tells them. "We will be leaving tonight, so get some rest for those of you that have not and begin our voyage." She walks off down as everyone goes about their own ways leaving Zuko and Iroh.  
"I believe that was a wise choice." Iroh comments.  
"But we're three people down, that could cost us," Zuko argues getting frustrated at the idea of Zhao finding the Avatar before him.  
"They could be spies for Commander Zhao if they do it once they can do it again," Iroh tells him.

Down below in the hallway, Rin walks over to her room door she opens the door and enters closing the door behind her then smoke seeps through the cracks of the door with screams of anger and frustration comes from the room.

 **A/N: All Will Be Revealed Further Through The Story!**


	5. The Boy In A Warrior Dress

_"Water... Earth... Fire... Air…" Katara voices over as the benders demonstrate as she talks. "My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of peace when the Avatar kept the balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked." It journeys into the map showing the world and closes in on a bender displaying all the elements. "Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless firebenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished." He disappears from sight. "A hundred years have passed and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe." It shows the Water Tribe men on their boats and Katara hugging her older brother Sokka holding up a lantern. "Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle is broken, but I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow the Avatar will return to save the world."_

 **The Boy In A Warrior Dress**

In the evening sky filled with stars, the Fire Nation ship glides through the ocean below. In Zuko's room he sits in the lotus position with his eyes closed in front of an altar, four white candles burn they increase and decrease along with Zuko's rhythmic breathing. His face shows he is calm and concentrated when the door to his room opens to General Iroh entering the room to his right. "The only reason you should be interrupting me is if you have news about the Avatar," Zuko tells his uncle in a dangerously calm voice not even looking at his uncle.  
"Well, there is news, Prince Zuko, but you might not like it. Don't get too upset." Iroh tells his nephew holding a map.  
"Uncle, you taught me that keeping a level head is a sign of a great leader. Now whatever you have to say, I'm sure that I can take it." He tells his uncle calmly.  
"Okay, then... we have no idea where he is and Rin hasn't left her room yet," Iroh informs him.  
"WHAT?!" Zuko exclaims in a pure rage with that the four candles flare to the ceiling. He stands quickly and turns around to face his uncle, anger evident on his face. Iroh turns away from the flames raising his right arm to protect his face, as the flames subside, he pulls out a fan from his robes.  
"You really should open a window in here," Iroh advises his nephew as he fans himself.  
"Give me the map!" Zuko orders him as he snatches it out of his hands, Zuko opens the rolled up scroll and begins to study it as Iroh continues to fan himself.  
"There have been multiple sightings of the Avatar, but he is impossible to track down," Iroh tells him.  
"How am I gonna find him, Uncle?" Zuko asks him as he looks down at the marks with circled Xs and dotted lines connecting them all. "He is clearly a master of evasive manoeuvring." He comments as a laugh fills the room, the two men look at the door to see Rin laughing.  
"He's a kid. If I was him, I'd want to have fun after a hundred years of sleep." Rin comments looking at Zuko. "I've looked into what events or things were happening at the time there, they all lead to fun. So we're heading in a direction I believe he will be heading also." She tells them.  
"Very thought out General Rin." Iroh praises her.  
"I didn't get to where I am now with just my fighting skills." She laughs and walks off.  
"She has a nice laugh," Zuko whispers to himself, he had never heard her laugh before it was so new and gave his heart a squeeze at the sound of it. He wanted to hear it again but he wanted to be the one who made her laugh or smile or just be happy. He shakes his head at the thoughts going through his head and looks back to the map in his hands.

* * *

Sokka reads the map in his hands atop Appa with an exasperated expression on his face. "You have no idea where you're going, do you?" Sokka asks Aang as they fly through the air.  
"Weeelll, I know it's near water…" Aang answers turning to face Sokka but they were already flying over an endless stretch of water.  
"I guess we're getting close then," Sokka replies flatly while Katara was mending a garment. Aang turns his head back watching her along with Momo who was sitting on Aang's left shoulder.  
"Momo, marbles please," Aang asks his friend, Momo scrambles into his shirt and returns with a marble and hands it over to Aang. "Hey, Katara! Check out this airbending trick!" He says smiling eagerly and cups the marble in his two hands. He suspends the marble between his two hands making it whirl around and around in mid-air. He grins happily at Katara, wanting her to pay attention to him. But Katara is preoccupied and doesn't look up from her sewing.  
"That's great, Aang," Katara says absentmindedly.  
"You didn't even look." He says dejectedly as she still wasn't paying any attention.  
"That's great!" She says looking up from her sewing.  
"But I'm not doing it now." He tells her. Sokka sits at the back of Appa's saddle with his arms crossed behind his head.  
"Stop bugging her, airhead. You need to give girls space when they do their sewing." Sokka tells him waving his arm dismissively in their direction. This stops Katara's needle in midair as she turns her head towards Sokka her face a mixture of annoyance and anger.  
"What does me being a girl have to do with sewing?" She asks him hoping he realises what she was getting at.  
"Simple: girls are better at fixing pants than guys, and guys are better at hunting and fighting and stuff like that. It's just the natural order of things." He answers, he was an idiot this just got Katara all riled up and she stopped sewing.  
"All done with your pants! And look what a great job I did!" She tells him with over exaggerated happiness as she throws his pants at him hitting him in the head.  
"Wait! I was just kidding! I can't wear these!" He exclaims sticking his arm through the big hole in the seat of his pants. "Katara, PLEASE!"  
"Don't worry, Sokka. Where we're going, you won't need any pants!" Aang tells him as he gives a pull on the reigns and Appa swoops down in the sky. They land on an island beach with snow-capped mountains.  
"We just made a pit stop yesterday. Shouldn't we get a little more flying done before we camp out?" Sokka asks.  
"He's right. At this rate, we won't get to the North Pole until spring." She agrees with her brother.  
"But Appa's tired already, aren't you boy? I said, aren't you boy?" Aang says shading his face and looking out over the water then nudges Appa with his elbow, hoping his friend would take the hit. Appa yawns on cue, but it was obviously not real and Aang sticks his thumb in his direction.  
"Yeah, that was honoured convincing. Still, hard to argue with a ten-ton magical monster." Sokka comments.  
"LOOK!" Aang gasps excitedly pointing out to the water as a giant koi fish jumps out of the water behind them.  
"That's why we're here…" As he starts stripping down to his underwear. "... elephant koi. And I'm going to ride it. Katara, you've gotta watch me!" He dives into the water. A second later he leaps out again out again with a shocked expression on his face. "COLD!" Katara and Sokka look at each other wryly. Sokka makes the 'he's crazy' signal twirling his finger next to his head. Aang swirls out to the way and dives under the water and catches hold of an elephant koi. The giant fish leaps out of the water with Aang riding on its back, his hands grasping the dorsal fin. The koi dives back into the water, carrying Aang with it.

Katara watches Aang from the beach, she looks on excited and in interested, she was enjoying his antics. Sokka, Katara, and Momo stand on the beach and watch Aang hanging on the back of the elephant koi laughing, he waves to Katara and she waves back. "Woo!" She cheers waving at him.  
"Yeeaaaah! Woohoo!" He cheers laughing, ecstatic as he rides the giant koi fish. A couple other fish follow on behind, leaping in and out of the water. All the giant koi fish dive underwater. Katara and Sokka on the shore, Momo jumps up and down, watching on intently.  
"He looks pretty good out there." Katara comments.  
"Are you kidding? The fish is doing all the work." Sokka replies as Katara looks at Appa.  
"No, Appa! Don't eat that!" She tells him hurrying off as Sokka continues to watch Aang. He rides the elephant koi, he grins broadly at Katara, who runs towards the trees, Aang seems disappointed that she was no longer watching him.  
"Aww, man…" He groans, as three elephant koi's swim on the surface of the water. The two of the koi, including the one Aang was riding, veers off to the right. A shadow under the water approaches the remaining elephant koi. Sokka notices the shadow in the water.  
"There's something in the water!" Sokka yells out to Aang, as one of the last koi fish tries leaping out of the water, but gets pulled under. Aang still rides his koi fish, something approaches him from behind. Momo distressed jumps up and down, Katara hears the commotion and runs up beside Sokka back up on the beach.  
"What's wrong?" Katara asks looking at the commotion.  
"Aang's in trouble. Aang!" Sokka tells her then yells out to him.  
"Get out of there!" She screams, he watches Katara, Sokka and Momo on the shore. They seem to be waving their arms and yelling out to him.  
"Come back here! AANG!" Sokka screams out to him.  
"AANG!" Katara screams out. Aang just waves back at Sokka and Katara, misinterpreting their frantic gestures. The koi fish he's riding bucks sending Aang headlong into the bay. He comes up a second after going under and spurts water out of his mouth. He breathes heavily and gasps for air as an enormous serrated fin rises ominously from the water behind him. Aang against the fin's backdrop he turns around slowly to see what's following close behind him, his eyes widen and screams in panic.

Aang leaps to the surface of the water and runs towards the shore, the enormous fin turns and begins to chase after him. As the fin gains on Aang he reaches the shore, running head first and full force into Sokka, he knocks Sokka off his feet and they both go crashing towards the tree line. The fin then turns and slowly heads back out to sea, Katara runs back to where Aang and Sokka are. Aang puts his clothes back on while Sooks sits up against the tree they skidded into. "What was that thing?" Katara asks them.  
"I don't know," Aang tells her.  
"Well, let's not stick around and find out. Time to hit the road." Sokka says getting up and wipes his hands together. Four green-clad warriors fall on Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Momo from the trees above. The first warrior grabs Sokka under his arms from behind him. The second warrior pulls Katara's hood over her head. The third warrior grabs Aang by his shirt. The fourth warrior traps Momo in a small sack. They get all bound and blindfolded being thrown to the ground at the feet of their captors as four sets of green-robed legs circling around them. "Oof... Or we could stay a while…" He comments as they get thrown to the ground.

In the snow-covered mountain path, lined on both sides by the wintry forest at the back of the village, the leader, Oyagi. He has long grey hair, with a high poofy ponytail on top of his head. The large pole in a fenced clearing, Momo was still in the sack at Aang's feet. "You three have some explaining to do," Oyagi tells the three on the ground tied and bound.  
"And if you don't answer all our questions, we're throwing you back in the water with the unagi," Suki tells them.  
"Show yourselves, cowards!" Sokka yells at them as their blindfolds get removed to reveal five young women dressed in green, Their faces are painted white with red around their eyes, and they carry fans by their waistbands. Aang, Sokka, Katara and Momo tied to the pole, the green-clad girls and Oyagi in front of them. "Who are you? Where are the men who ambushed us?" He asks trying to free himself.  
"There were no men. We ambushed you. Now tell us, who are you and what are you doing here?" Suki asks them taking a step towards Sokka shaking her fist at him.  
"Wait on a second, there's no way that a bunch of girls took us down." Sokka laughs in disbelief. She grabs him by the collar and shakes him.  
"A bunch of girls, huh? The unagi's gonna eat well tonight." Suki says threateningly.  
"No, don't hurt him! He didn't mean it. My brother is just an idiot sometimes." Katara says quickly.  
"It's my fault. I'm sorry we came here. I wanted to ride the elephant koi." Aang says apologetically as Oyagi flanks by the four female warriors, the houses of the village can be seen in the background.  
"How do we know you're not Fire Nation spies? Kyoshi stayed out of the war so far. And we intend to keep it that way!" Oyagi accuses them pointing at Aang but he has a mixture of surprise and interest.  
"This island is named for Kyoshi? I know Kyoshi!" Aang tells them.  
"Ha! How could you possibly know her? Avatar Kyoshi was born here four hundred years ago. She's been dead for centuries." Oyagi argues as they look up at the pole to see the base of Avatar Kyoshi's statue. She is dressed in the same green garments as the female warriors who had captured them. Her face was painted white and there were two open fans in her hands. Aang looks down towards the ground then back at Oyagi.  
"I know her because I'm the Avatar," Aang tells them but all of their faces show shock and disbelief.  
"That's impossible! The last Avatar was an Airbender who disappeared a hundred years ago." Suki shakes her fist at Aang in disappointment but Aang just grins widely.  
"Throw the imposter to the unagi!" Oyagi yells and walks off. The female warriors assume a fighting stance, each warrior has two open fans in their hands. The four warriors move menacingly towards the helpless trio.  
"Aang... do some airbending…" Katara tells him as the warrior's approach. Aang breaks his bonds and shoots himself into the air. He backflips over the top of Kyoshi's stature, he floats gracefully to the ground amidst the 'oohs' and 'aahs' of the gathered crowd, which includes other members of the village. Behind Aang, Suki and her warrior's gaze in shock and amazement of Aang's movements.  
"It's true... you are the Avatar!" Oyagi exclaims with Aang having a serious look on his face. In the background, he had Sokka and Katara on his left still tied up at the base of the statue. Aang, realising that he now has an audience, pulling the marble out from under his shirt.  
"Now... check this out!" Aang exclaims as he does the same trick he had tried to impress Katara with earlier. The villagers cheer and jump for joy, one of the villagers towards the front right screams like a girl and gets so excited that he begins to foam at the mouth. He faints and falls forward.

A small girl runs eagerly across a pier to a fisherman who lifts his catch out of the water in a conical basket. "Did you hear the news? The Avatar's on Kyoshi!" The little girl exclaims.  
"HUH?" The fisherman asks shocked and surprised he drops his basket of fish and quickly picks it up again. People told other people who told other people. In a small street in the village, the fisherman from earlier, he gives the basket of fish to a merchant, he reports the news that the Avatar is in Kyoshi. Then the merchant in the front of the shop and sells a fish to a man who tells him of the Avatar to his customer, who is really from the Fire Nation.

* * *

In Zuko's room the cook who turns out to be the cook of the ship, he serves the cooked fish to Zuko, Iroh and Rin. He kneels down to place the dish on the table and whispers into Rin's ear. "Seems I was right," Rin comments smirking at the fact she had found the Avatar again.  
"The Avatar's on Kyoshi Island?" He asks standing up with a hint of anger in his voice and walks out of the room while speaking. "Uncle, ready the rhinos. He's not getting away from me this time." He says as Iroh sits at the table with the steaming hot plate of fish in front of him and Rin. Iroh turns towards Zuko and points at the fish.  
"Are you going to finish that?" Iroh asks looking at the fish. Zuko walks angrily back to the dinner table and grabs the fish off of the table.  
"I was going to save it for later!" He storms off with his meal, Iroh crosses his arms in annoyance and pouts at not getting to eat the fish.

* * *

At the statue of Avatar Kyoshi, two villagers attend to the statue. One paints a recolour on her face and the other scrubs the dirt from the back. It was morning and there were only a few villagers on the main street, everything is peaceful and quiet in the sunlight,

Appa lies down on his side munching on fresh hay, as two villagers care for him, while one of the villagers scrubs his fur as the other buffers Appa's horns. Appa grunts in happiness in the clear enjoyment of all the attention. In the window of the house, Appa was behind, Momo, Aang, and Katara sit in front of a long wooden table, it was covered in eighteen different plates of food. A villager enters the room placing another plate on the table and leaves, Aang throws his arms up in the air in happiness. "All right! Dessert for breakfast!" Aang stuffs his face while talking with a full mouth. "These people sure know how to treat an Avatar!" He exclaims while they eat their breakfast. They sit in front of a large window, propped open to show the mountain in the background with a view of the two villagers refurbishing the statue of Avatar Kyoshi. "Mmm... Katara you've got to try these!" He offers her.  
"Well, maybe just a bite…" She takes the candy from Aang as Momo seizes the opportunity to snatch another from Aang's other hand.  
"Sokka, what's your problem? EAT!" He says looking over to Sokka who is sitting hunched over glowering in the corner of the room.  
"Not hungry." He mumbles as Aang peers around Katara's head in shocked at what he had just heard come from Sokka always hungry mouth.  
"But you're always hungry!" Aang points out.  
"He's just upset because a bunch of girls kicked his butt yesterday." She comments looking at her older brother.  
"They snuck up on me!" Sokka defends himself.  
"Right. And then they kicked your butt." She teases him smugly.  
"Sneak attacks don't count!" Sokka exclaims angrily getting up and paces around the room, gesturing wildly in the air. "Tie me up with ropes! I'll show them a thing or two. I'm not scared of any girls." He says pacing around the breakfast table and ferociously grabs at the sweets on it. He begins to lower his voice as he talks to himself. "Who do they think they are anyway?" He grunts stuffing more sweets into his mouth then walks off out the room. "Mmm... this is tasty." Leaving Aang and Katara at the table.  
"What's he so angry about? It's great here. They're giving us the royal treatment." Aang comments on the events that had just unravelled.  
"Hey, don't get too comfortable. It's risky for us to stay in one place for very long." She tells him.  
"I'm sure we'll be fine. Besides, did you see how happy I'm making this town?" He asks turning around to look out the window at the villagers working on the statue. "They're even cleaning up that statue in my honour!" He exclaims.  
"Well, it's nice to see you excited about being the Avatar. I just hope it doesn't all go to your head." She warns him.  
"Come on, you know me better than that. I'm just a simple monk." He retorts then stands up going over to the window. He looks down in surprise and confusion to see the courtyard full of little girls from the village. They were screaming and cheering at him as his face breaks out into a large smile and blushes. Katara stands slightly behind him, she crosses her arms and sticks her tongue out at them making a long, exasperated raspberry.

At the bright red bridge over a small stream, Aang runs back and forth over the bridge while being pursued by the pack of young girls ruining the quiet. The group ends up splitting up and coming at him from both sides of the bridge as he stands in the middle. He jumps high into the air as the groups merge together underneath him, waiting for him to come back down. But it was taking too long, as he had his arms wrapped around a spinning ball of air. It finally dissipates and he falls into the arms of the crowd below.

Aang stands next to Koko, one of the young girls from the village as an artist puts up his paintbrush next to them as a reference from painting the scene before him. He lifts his paper to begin his ink painting, covering the spot where Aang and Koko are standing. "Painting the Avatar... that's easy enough…" The artist says to himself while painting but when he drops the parchment for another look there were now two girls standing with Aang. "Oh... there's another one... I'll make an adjustment here, and…" He drops his painting now, there are four girls standing around Aang. "There's more... what…" Then there appears that every girl in the village has joined the group now. The artist looks at this in utter disbelief and irritation, as the group crowd in on Aang and laugh while he has a look of horror on his face. The artist gets up from his stool giving up and walks away as the girls collapse on top of Aang into a laughing pile much to the dislike to the young Avatar.

Aang does some push-ups in front of six girls, while Momo is sitting on his back. The girls stare him down at his rapt admiration. Aang begins to do a one-handed push-up, then he puts both hands behind his back using his breath to push himself up off the ground. Aang and the girls while he still does airbending push-ups with his breath, Katara walks past them carrying a basket just rolls her eyes at them, in both irritation and jealousy.

At a small house nestled in evergreen trees, Sokka walks over to the house muttering to himself about the girls from before that had taken them. He walks up to the door and has a look inside, the fan warriors are doing some drills as Sokka looks around the doorway, he grins to himself and puts up his hands entering the dojo. "Sorry ladies! Didn't mean to interrupt your dance lesson." He says in an arrogant manner stretching his arms and waist. "I was just looking for somewhere to get a little workout?" He bends over and grabs his knees with his hands trying to prove something to the girls.  
"Well, you're in the right place," Suki tells him as he looks around the entire area with all the people inside. Sokka continues to stretch in front of the female warriors. "Sorry about yesterday. I didn't know that you were friends with the Avatar." She sincerely apologizes to him.  
"It's all right. I mean, normally I'd hold a grudge, but seeing as you guys are a bunch of girls, I'll make an exception." Sokka tells them rotating his shoulders.  
"I should hope so. A big strong man like you? We wouldn't stand a chance." Suki responds sarcastically.  
"True. But don't feel bad. After all, I'm the best warrior in my village." He boasts.  
"Wow! Best warrior, huh? In your whole village? Maybe you'd be kind enough to give us a little demonstration." She teases leaning towards Sokka smiling.  
"Oh... well... I mean... I…" He tries forming a sentence.  
"Come on, girls! Wouldn't you like him to show us some moves?" She asks her fellow female warriors. They all giggle and nod in agreement at Suki's suggestion then Sokka turns walking towards her.  
"Well, if that's what you want, I'd be happy to. All right, you stand over there." He tells her grasping her shoulders pushing her back to a little, but Suki doesn't move. He doesn't seem to notice or care. "This may be a little tough, but try to block me." He throws a punch, she blocks it with a deft thrust of her fan to his shoulder. Her stance shows disinterest and confidence against Sokka's arrogance. "Heh heh... good. Of course, I was going easy on you." He rubs his sore shoulder.  
"Of course." She agrees not believing it too fully.  
"Let's see if you can handle this!" He says lunging at her, she catches him under his leg tossing him back towards the door. He lands on his butt. "That does it!" He exclaims getting frustrated getting up and lunges for her again, She grabs him by the arm, spinning him around in circles and ties his arm to his foot with his own belt then throws him to the floor.  
"Anything else you want to teach us?" She asks him standing over him laughing but all he does is blush in humiliation as all the warriors laugh at him.

In the village by the statue of Avatar Kyoshi in the foreground, Aang and the cluster of girls at its base as they stare up at the statue. "There she is, girls. Me in a past life." Aang boasts for the millionth time that day and again the girls all seem impressed.  
"You were pretty!" Koko exclaims.  
"Excuse me for a second, ladies," Aang tells them as he approaches Katara who was in the marketplace filling a basket with vegetables, he gets to her and taps her on the shoulder.  
"Oh, good! Can you help me carry this back to the room? It's a little heavy." Katara says turning around to face him.  
"Actually, I can't right now." He tells her.  
"What do you mean you can't?" She asks him irritated at his attitude.  
"I promised the girls that I'd give them a ride on Appa. Why don't you come with us? It'll be fun!" He tells her as she picks up more vegetables.  
"Watching you show off for a bunch of girls does not sound like fun." She retorts.  
"Well, neither does carrying your basket." He tells her.  
"It's not my basket. These supplies are for our trip. I told you, we have to leave Kyoshi soon." She snaps at him getting more and more irritated at Aang.  
"I don't want to leave Kyoshi yet. I can't put my finger on it, but there's something I really like about this place." He says as the group of girls that have been following him around all day giggle at him again.  
"What's taking you so long, Aangy?" Koko asks getting annoyed stomping her foot putting her hands on her hips seeming to be jealous of Katara.  
"Aangy…" Katara repeats flatly looking at her weirdly.  
"Just a second, Koko!" He calls back to her.  
"Simple monk,' huh? I thought you promised me that this Avatar stuff wouldn't go to your head." She asks him.  
"It didn't. You know what I think? You just don't want to come because you're jealous." He tells her.  
"Jealous? Of what?" She asks him.  
"Jealous that we're having so much fun without you." He tells her.  
"That's ridiculous." She replies putting vegetables in her basket ferociously.  
"It is a little ridiculous, but I understand." He says but that just gets him an angry look from Katara as they stand by the vegetable stand. She groans loudly, picking up her basket, and walks away from him. Aang watches her go as his giggling girls drag him off in the opposite direction.

Sokka kicks a stone outside of the fan warrior's dojo, he walks cautiously to the door. Suki and her warriors start training again but stop when they see Sokka walking in. "Uh... hey, Suki," Sokka calls out hesitantly.  
"Hoping for another dance lesson?" Suki asks him mockingly.  
"No... I... well, let me explain." He tells her.  
"Spit it out! What do you want?" She asks him.  
"I would be honoured if you would teach me." He says getting onto his knees humbly.  
"Even if I'm a girl?" She asks him.  
"I'm sorry if I insulted you earlier. I was wrong." He says quietly.  
"We normally don't teach outsiders, let alone boys." She informs him.  
"Please make an exception. I won't let you down." He promises her.  
"All right. But you have to follow all of our traditions." She tells him.  
"Of course!" He tells her quickly.  
"And I mean ALL of them." She says when later Sokka comes out in the full green dress and white face paint of the fan warriors.  
"Do I really have to wear this? It feels a little... girly." He comments.  
"It's a warrior's uniform. You should be proud. The silk threads symbolize the brave blood that flows through our veins. The gold insignia represents the honour of the warrior's heart." She tells him.  
"Bravery and honour." He says standing up feeling more proud of himself now this information. Just in that moment, Aang walks by the door of the dojo. He turns ducking his head with a smile of mischief on his face.  
"Hey, Sokka! Nice dress!" Aang yells giggling racing off away. Sokka and Suki stand in front of the dojo doorway, his momentary pride gets crushed by Aang's barb. Suki smiles at him enjoying his discomfort.

Katara practices her waterbending in their room as a plume of water rises and falls from a small bowl in front of her. Aang enters the room standing cockily in the doorway. "Katara, remember how the unagi almost got me yesterday?" Aang asks her.  
"Yeah." She answers without looking up from her bowl.  
"Well, I'm gonna go ride it now. It's gonna be REAL dangerous." He informs her.  
"Good for you." She replies still not looking up at him.  
"You're not going to stop me?" He asks her seeming surprised.  
"Nope. Have fun." She answers still not looking up at him.  
"I will." He tells her crossing his arms in a peeved manner.  
"Great." She says.  
"I know it's great." He says.  
"I'm glad you know." She retorts.  
"I'm glad you're glad." He replies.  
"Good!" She yells.  
"Fine!" He yells back and turns to storm angrily out of the room. He pauses at the door turning his head back to look at her. She still intent on her waterbending and doesn't look up at him. His face falls and walks out the door, as she lets the waterfall back into the bowl and crosses her arms, looking at the door through which Aang left through.

Suki and Sokka in the dojo circle each other with fans unfurled. "You're not going to master it in one day. Even I'm not that good." Suki tells him.  
"I think I'm starting to get it," Sokka comments as he continues to practice the moves, at the end, he accidentally throws his fan out the door into a tree. Suki looks out the door at the lost fan as snow falls from the branches above burying it.  
"It's not about strength. Our technique is about using your opponent's' force against them. Loosen up. Think of the fan as an extension of your arm." She tells him turning walking towards him and assumes the battle stance, "Wait for an opening and then…" As he gets a determined look on his face as she lunges at him and he parries the thrust, knocking her off her feet. She shows her surprise and embarrassment as she looks up from her spot on the floor. He crosses his arms in a 'so there' manner humming to himself. "I fell on purpose to make you feel better!" She argues getting to her feet, flustered.  
"I got you! Admit I got you!" He laughs pointing at her.  
"Okay, it was a lucky shot. Let's see if you can do it again." She tells him laughing as she grabs a hold of his outstretched hand and bends it back painfully. She lets go of his hand and they assume another battle positions. They begin to circle each other.

Aang is in the middle of the bay looking towards the shore at his little fan club as all of the girls sitting on the shore appears to be very bored. "What's taking so long?" Koko asks impatiently.  
"I'm sure it will be here any second!" Aang yells back, he looks down at the water. "What about this?" He suspends and spins the marble between his two hands again.  
"Not that again. Boring." Another girl comments.  
"Where's the unagi? It's getting late." Koko says as they get up and leave, leaving Aang alone in the water.  
"Where're you going? Don't leave!" He shouts at them waving his arms around.  
"Sorry, Aang! Maybe next time." She yells back at him as the last of the girls leave the shore and Katara replaces them.  
"Katara! You came!" He yells out waving excitedly.  
"I wanted to make sure you were safe. You really had me worried." Katara tells him.  
"Back there you acted like you didn't care." He points out.  
"I'm sorry." She tells him sincerely.  
"Me too. I did let all that attention go to my head. I was being a jerk." He admits to both her and himself.  
"Well, get out of the water before you catch a cold, you big jerk!" She tells him affectionately.  
"On my way!" He yells back with a wide grin as he begins to swim to the shore, the unagi comes up from behind him catching him in its wake. As the unagi rises from the water, Aang knees on a portion of its tail.

* * *

The unagi raises its large head spewing a powerful jet of water directly at Aang, he leaps up grabbing hold of one of the unagi's whiskers. The unagi shakes its head back and forth attempting to get Aang off of itself. Aang swings back and forth in front of the sharp fangs of the beast, saliva dripping from the teeth as it licks its lips. "Hang on, Aang!" Katara calls out from the shore. The unagi continues to shake its head and Aang gets thrown into the water. He's unconscious as he comes to the surface as both Katara and the unagi rush towards him. She reaches him first taking him into her arms just as the unagi raises itself from the water. She pushes the water forcefully in front of her and propels both herself and Aang away from the unagi. It dives back into the water forcing it to send Aang and Katara flying into a small cavern. The ungai in anger shoots water from it mouth then sinks back into the bay. Katara peers over the side of the opening seeing the Fire Nation Navy ship approaching the island. "Zuko! Rin!" She exclaims in both shock and fear.

* * *

The ship lands, the prow lets down and Zuko rides out of the hull on the back of a war rhinoceros. He is accompanied by Rin and some of the men on the rhino mounts. "I want the Avatar alive," Zuko orders them, Katara hides the still unconscious Aang in the cave as Zuko and his army marches towards Kyoshi.  
"Wake up, Aang!" She tries waking him up, she moves her hands up to his chest drawing the water out of his lungs, he finally coughs and sputters water out.  
"Katara... don't ride the unagi. Not fun." He tells her weakly.

* * *

In the warrior's dojo, Suki and Sokka are sparring, he parries a thrust and they both are smiling. "Not bad." Suki comments as Oyagi runs to the door of the dojo, breathless.  
"Firebenders have landed on our shores! Girls come quickly!" Oyagi shouts at them in warning breathlessness.  
"Hey, I'm not a... oh, whatever!" Sokka tries correcting him but gives up halfway.

* * *

Zuko enters the town through the streets are deserted. "Come out, Avatar! You can't hide from me forever!" Zuko shouts out to the deserted town.  
"Find him," Rin orders her men they begin searching the town for Aang. The three war rhinos as they proceed down the main street of the village.

A green form rushes silently past, the fan warriors attack Zuko's army. Suki heads directly for Zuko and Rin. As she is about to land on them, Zuko turns his rhino and she gets swatted out of the air by its tail. She hits the ground, Zuko aims a fire blast at her as Rin aims a fire blast in the air just as Sokka steps in between Suki and the fireballs, deflecting them. Zuko gets taken by surprise, falling off his rhino. "I guess training's over." Sokka comments, Suki, Sokka, and another warrior cautiously approach the prone Zuko as Rin jumps down stealthily from her rhino. Zuko spins around on his hands shooting fire bolts out of his feet at the approaching warriors. He knocks them all to the ground pulling himself to his feet. Zuko leaps to the middle of the street as Rin jumps over the fallen warriors to Zuko.  
"Nice try, Avatar! But these little girls can't save you." Zuko comments.  
"Hey! Over here!" Aang shouts out to him.  
"Finally!" Rin yells looking over facing each other. Zuko lets loose three consecutive fireballs from his hands as Rin jumps into the air firing off two shots. Aang dodges them and, uses his staff as a helicopter, flies towards Zuko. He shoots another blast of fire, which knocks Aang's staff out of his hands, Aang leaps away picking up two discarded fans. Zuko runs full force at Aang as Rin ducks down getting attacked by a fan warrior, she starts fighting with the warrior growing frustrated. Aang uses the fans to throw an enormous gust of air at Zuko. The air gets knocked out of Zuko through the wall of a building. "You okay?" She asks him faking concern as she jumps back from her fight with the warrior before rushing forward to take another swing at the girl. Aang drops the fans and picks up his staff, throwing it into the air and flies over the now burning town. He looks behind him to see the statue of Avatar Kyoshi engulfed in flames. He lands next to Katara, who helps a small child inside.  
"Get inside," Katara tells him.  
"Look what I brought to this place," Aang says upset.  
"It's not your fault." She tries cheering him up.  
"Yes, it is. These people got their town destroyed trying to protect me." He says.  
"Then let's get out of here. Zuko will leave Kyoshi to follow us. I know it feels wrong to run, but I think it's the only way." She tells him.  
"I'll call Appa." He says hanging his head as a fan warrior battles a firebender. She throws her fan directly at his face mask knocking him unconscious. Sokka and Suki crouching behind a house.  
"There's no time to say goodbye," Suki tells Sokka.  
"What about, "I'm sorry"?" Sokka tries apologizing.  
"For what?" She asks him confused.  
"I treated you like a girl when I should have treated you like a warrior." He tells her honestly as she leans towards him.  
"I am a warrior." She tells him kissing him on the cheek. "But I'm a girl, too." He touches his cheek, eyes wide with surprise, blushing. "Now get out of here! We'll hold them off." She tells him and he runs up Appa's tail, with Katara, Aang, and Momo waiting for him.  
"Appa, yip yip!" Appa yells he grunts in reply and flies off out of town but Zuko sees them leaving.  
"Back to the ship! Don't lose sight of them!" Rin orders her men. Appa flies away from the burning town below. Katara and Sokka sit in the saddle on his back as Aang sits behind Appa's head with the reins in hand. He hangs his head down, clearly upset but Katara leans forward to try cheering him up.  
"I know it's hard, but you did the right thing. Zuko and Rin would have destroyed the whole place if we had stayed. They're going to be okay, Aang." She tries cheering him up but without a word, Aang suddenly dives off of Appa into the bay, with a determined look on his face. "What are you doing?!" She yells down as they watch on in horror as Aang disappears under the water. Ringlets disturb the water surface Aang's dive created Several breathless seconds go by before the unagi bursts out of the water, Aang riding on it. He holds onto both its whiskers forcing the unagi's head towards the burning town of Kyoshi. Aang pulls back on the whiskers as the unagi spews water over the town. The stream continues long enough to put out the fires created by Zuko, Rin and their army started. The town smoulders from the fires that were put out and Zuko, Rin and their army are soaking wet and look very unhappy.

Aang still on the back of the unagi, he sees that Kyoshi is out of danger finally and lets go of the unagi's whiskers. The unagi rears its head and Aang jumps into the air just as Appa swoops down, to catch him in his front paws and flies off. Oyagi looks out of his window watching the departure of the travellers. "Thank you, Avatar." Oyagi thanks them gratefully.

* * *

Aang climbs onto Appa's saddle with Katara, Sokka, and Momo sitting waiting for him. "I know, I know. That was stupid and dangerous." Aang says to Katara trying to avoid the lecture he thinks she's going to give him.  
"Yes, it was." Katara agrees then hugs him, his face lights up with joy and surprise from the action.

* * *

In the bay, by Kyoshi, the unagi swims at the surface as its fin rips through the water surface with the sun setting in the background, as it's all calm and quiet.

* * *

On the Fire Navy ship in Rin's quarters, she changes into new clothes looking into the mirror at her right shoulder where a burn scar sits from her time in the Fire Nation Army. She pulls on her top careful of her scar and pulls her hair into her usual ponytails before walking out of her room.

* * *

She walks onto the deck with her men racing around doing their usual thing while she watches on thinking of them as her family. She walks to the front of the ship looking out at the horizon as someone approaches her from behind. "We'll go home soon Rin." The captain promises her.  
"I have nothing to go home for." She replies with a dark look in her eyes thinking of her parents. She hears a shout from the deck below, the unmistakable voice of Prince Zuko. "Our leader seems to be in a mood again." She jokes gaining a laugh from the captain, they both move to the deck below to Zuko and his large rant.

 **A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a long time, I'm so sorry. I was working on some new stories I want to write and I was more focused on those and some things in my work based life so I slightly neglected the story but now that it's sorted I will be focusing more time on the story. I hope you like the story so far please comment as I love to see what you think. The next one is on what stories I've come up with so comment on what you'd like to see next from me but I will be finishing all three books before that but can give me a head start so don't get dishearted if it's not a chapter.**


	6. Upcoming Stories

**Upcoming Stories**

TV

BTVS - English Lovers: Rupert Giles Love Story

BTVS - Godlike Love: Spike Love Story

OUAT - Cruel Princess: Killian Jones Love Story

OUAT - The Historian: Emma Swan Love Story

Lucifer - Demon Dog - Lucifer Morningstar Love Story

DC

Dark Knight - Mrs Bodyguard Wayne: Bruce Wayne Love Story

Batman: Under The Red Hood - Scarlet Sinner: Jason Todd Love Story

MOVIES

Treasure Planet - Their Treasure: Jim Hawkins Love Story

Harry Potter - Darkmore Series: Ron Weasley Love Story

ANIME

Nanbaka - Nanba Prison Genius: Rock Love Story

Tokyo Ghoul - Nightmare: Kaneki Ken Love Story

My Hero Academia - Explosive Love: Bakugo Katsuki Love Story

Kuroko no Basuke - The Other Purple Giant - Kagami Taiga Love Story

Death Note - My Light: Light Yagami Love Story

Blue Exorcist - Little Lucifer: Rin Okumura Love Story

Naruto - Twin Haruno: Naruto Uzumaki Love Story

Black Butler - Demon Love: Sebastian Love Story

Inuyasha - Sly Love: Inuyasha Love Story

Gangsta - Sign In Love: Nick Love Story

Kuroko no Basuke - Miracle Coach: Kasamatsu Yukio Love Story

Hunter X Hunter - Hunter And Assassin: Killua Love Story

Hunter X Hunter - Demon Hunter: Leorio Love Story

The Devil Is A Part Timer - The Devil's Empress: Sadao Maou Love Story

OHSHC - Haruhi's Big Sister: Kyoya Ootori Love Story

OHSHC - Rebel Rose: Haruhi Fujioka Love Story

Black Lagoon - Rocky Waves: Rock Love Story


	7. The Purple Reaper

_"Water... Earth... Fire... Air…" Katara voices over as the benders demonstrate as she talks. "My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of peace when the Avatar kept the balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked." It journeys into the map showing the world and closes in on a bender displaying all the elements. "Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless firebenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished." He disappears from sight. "A hundred years have passed and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe." It shows the Water Tribe men on their boats and Katara hugging her older brother Sokka holding up a lantern. "Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle is broken, but I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow the Avatar will return to save the world."_

 **The Purple Reaper**

In the early morning sky, the sound of shouting echoes off the calm sea waking anyone insight. "Get back up!" Zuko shouts at one of the guards he was practising with. The said guard sat on the floor looking up at the young prince with slight irritation at his impatient look he was giving him. Soft footsteps came closer to the two men, they look to their left to see Rin with her hair down in her long nightdress looking almost murderous.  
"What in the god's name are you two doing this early in the morning?" She asks them deadly calm.  
"Training General Rin." The guard answers getting up from the floor quickly.  
"Do it when you won't wake everyone up with your girl crying." She snaps walking away from them leaving them to see that her long night shirt showed her back and they caught a glimpse of a scar on her right shoulder. Zuko seems almost shocked to even think that Rin could get hurt the image just made his chest ache but he just thought that was heartburn.

* * *

In the throne room of Omusha sits the ageing King with a young woman clad in white standing to his right watching as three strangers enter with the guards behind them forcing them to kneel before them. The King seems confused by this but all the young woman can do is try not to smirk as she recognised the Avatar from her leader Rin description. "Your Majesty, Royal Adviser, these juveniles were arrested for vandalism, travelling under false pretences and malicious destruction of cabbages." The guard informs them and the young woman leans down to whisper into the King's ear.

The young Royal Adviser walks up some steps to an aviary and attaches a scroll to one of the hawks before letting it fly off. "Such wonders news My Gracious Leader." She laughs before walking away down the steps.

* * *

Down below on the Fire Nation Vessel Rin walks down the hall to her room when she hears footsteps coming towards her, she snaps her head towards the noise to see the Captain. "What is it?" She asks him knowing he only ever talked to her when it involved something of importance.  
"There were sightings of the Avatar in the Earth Kingdom closing in on Omashu from your spy's report that just came in." The Captain informed her handing her a small scroll. She takes it from his outstretched hand, opening it before reading it over then looks up at the Captain.  
"We'll be heading there any way correct?" She asks him having the feeling that they were in the need of supplies.  
"Correct." He answers. "I'll have the ship in port soon." He turns around and walks away. Rin stands in the hallway thinking over all the possible scenarios that could accrue once they face the Avatar again and she hated to lose.

Later the same day Rin was dressed looking around the ship to see where she was needed, but it seemed that she was just standing there then saw three of her soldiers just standing doing nothing and came up with an idea to train. She walks over to them they stand to attention at her arrival. "Feel like training boys?" She asks them.  
"Yes, General." They replied and walk over to the training area and began fighting three against the General it still didn't seem fair to Rin as she was well trained since she could walk.

Zuko walks out from below to see Rin and three soldiers training, she was so powerful in her attacks taking them down easily it didn't seem fair. It made sense to him that she was a General he would just never say that to her, it wasn't because he was jealous or anything but he never had good experience with talking to girls. She was different to other girls he had met but he couldn't see how she was different she was so driven towards a goal that he was unclear what it was.

Rin focused on her training as she throws a punch at one of the soldiers while kicking behind her at another as the third soldier tries to attack her but she holds out her arm to hold his outstretched wrist and pulls him towards herself to throw him onto his back. She looks to her left to see Zuko walking towards them as she floors the three soldiers. "Seems you're no match for our General," Zuko comments, looking down at the soldiers.  
"It seems not your highness." One of the soldiers replies smiling.  
"How about it Zuko think you can take me?" Rin asks him smirking.  
"We shall see. Fire bending or weapons?" He asks her she seems to think about it before walking towards her scythe leaning against the side.  
"Weapons." She answers and Zuko sees his Uncle walking out from below with his broadswords and hands them to his nephew. Rin swings her scythe around her neck before thrusting it down at the floor by Zuko's feet making him fall back. "Ready?" She teases him as he gets back to his feet taking a fighting stance. They rush forward to clash weapons, Rin jumps back and swings her scythe towards his head but he raises his sword to block her attack.

* * *

Back in Omusha, King Bumi and Aang, the former making a fist and pulls back, shattering the crystal form from around the two water tribe teens. The crystal flies all over the place and King Bumi catches a piece in his hand before it hits his Royal Adviser in the face. "Genemite is made of rock candy." He tells them before taking a bite out of fit. "Delicious." He comments enjoying the taste.  
"So this crazy King is your old friend, Bumi?" Katara asks Aang seeming rather confused.  
"Who you calling old?" King Bumi sounding annoyed before pausing in thought. "Okay, I'm old." He confesses lightheartedly.  
"Why did you do all this instead of just telling Aang who you were?" Sokka asks him not getting why he went to such extreme measures.  
"First of all, it's pretty fun messing with people," King Bumi snorts. "But I do have a reason. - He turns to Aang - "Aang, you have a different task ahead. The world has changed in the hundred years you've been gone. It's the duty of the Avatar to restore balance to the world by defeating Fire Lord Ozai. You have much to learn. You must master the four elements and confront the Fire Lord and when you do, I hope you will think like a mad genius." Aang at this remark smiles clasping his hands together in thanks and bows to King Bumi. "And it looks like you're in good hands. You'll need your friends to help defeat the Fire Nation." At this point, Momo jumps onto Aang's shoulder. "And you'll need Momo too." He tells his young friend.  
"Thank you for your wisdom. But before we leave, I have a challenge for you!" Aang exclaims in excitement. A moment later a delivery bin flies by, King Bumi at the front, Aang in the back. Both having a blast as the air rushes by them.

They finally have their fill of fun and the three teens make their way out of the city but King Bumi places his hand on his friend's shoulder. "I forgot to ask, did you encounter a young female with purple fire?" He asks Aang.  
"Yeah, I did she seems powerful," Aang answers him.  
"It's because she is. Her name is General Rin Yuu but they call her The Purple Reaper as her flames are unique there has never been anyone with that colour in all of history. She is someone you must watch out for in a fight, she may be even a match for you at this time. Her power is limitless and her hunger for power rivals the Fire Lords, she has taken so much from this world in her time in the Fire Nation Army, it's said she only started out as a child on the battlefield. Be cautious of her my friend." He warns Aang with a look of seriousness in his eyes and Aang could see that and nods his head taking his friend's warning.  
"I will thank you Bumi." He says and begins to walk away waving at his longtime friend.

In the castle aviary, the Royal Adviser again visits sending a messenger hawk towards her leader with a sly smirk gracing her face with fire in her eyes at all the things that would come to pass.

* * *

It was hours later on the Fire Nation Ship the two were still sparing sweat rolling down their faces from the amount of energy they were using they seemed more slower in their attacks with everyone watching them. "General, your spy has a report from Omusha." One of the soldier's races over to the two fighting. Rin stops in her tracks as Zuko swings down his sword as she stops it with her hand before pushing up knocking him down before swinging it down to the blade stopping just at his throat.  
"I see thank you." She says to the soldier before walking over to Zuko and helps him to his feet. "Thank you for the workout." She laughs and walks away as the soldiers burst out in different directions.

Rin enters the war room to see a scroll on the desk, she walks over to read it to see that the Avatar had already moved on not before destroying a few things and got into a fight with the king along with getting locked up but that really King Bumi and Aang - the Avatar - were friends from a hundred years ago. Meaning that they were going to most likely they were going to side with the Avatar, but it didn't mean nothing could be done towards Omusha that would have to be told to the Fire Lord. Rin picks a scroll up and writes down information on Omusha and how she had an insider that could help take it for the Fire Nation. "Send this to the Fire Lord's War Council." She instructed to the messenger hawk and it takes flight.  
"What do you think you're doing?" Zuko asks her from the doorway, she turns around to face him.  
"My spy in Omusha said that the Avatar was there not too long ago and it seems that he and the current king were friends a hundred years ago it seems we may have a way inside the city," Rin answers him looking dead serious. "They'll be heading somewhere North but by water, if their main direction is the North Pole so that the Avatar may learn waterbending. So it would make sense that they were heading North from Omusha so we will change direction from our previous destination and head to the closest Fire Nation stronghold which just so happens to be a prison for Earth benders." She smirks and walks over to him."Don't you agree, Prince Zuko?" She asks him rhetorically.  
"Yes, I agree." He answers her anyway and moves out of her way. "But may I ask why over through Omusha?" He asks her thinking about it.  
"To strengthen the Fire Nation and my spy tells me the King is a bit nutty, seems like a good opportunity." She answers she felt like she was lying to him and herself she didn't care about any of that but it was her duty to the Fire Lord who to her seemed more unhinged as the years went on.  
"Uncle, do you know anything about General Rin?" Zuko asks his uncle as he sits down in front of him while he plays his silly game above deck.  
"Only that they called her The Purple Reaper and she started out on the battlefield as a child but that may just be a rumour as if any father would allow it. Though her father was General Jou Yuu and he died six years ago now, I heard he was a strict man but loved his family but we never know what happens really." Iroh answers his nephew while moving titles across the board.  
"I see, but if she were only a child it would be impossible for her to fight," Zuko concluded that the rumour of her being a child on the battlefield made no sense.  
"You're wrong, she was a child I remember when she came on as a Lieutenant she was only 6 at the time and her mother had died while she was away and got the news that day she didn't cry till the enemy were all dead." A voice tells them, they both snap their heads towards the voice to see the soldier who gave her the message earlier standing nearby, he was older than Zuko maybe in his early thirties and he looks out at the sea as if recalling the events he spoke of. "She was small, all the enemy did was laugh at her when she walked onto the battlefield taking charge leading us into battle but she killed so many of them. She was nicknamed The Purple Reaper for her flames and her skills of using a double-edged scythe in battle, she loved her parents but swore to make them both proud even if they weren't her real parents." He tells them and walks over to a few other soldiers leaving them to think over what he had said.  
"It makes you think of all the things she must have gone through then you look at your life," Iroh comments again moving a piece on the board. Zuko frowns and sees Rin walking out onto the deck over to a group of soldiers shouting at them to get to work after they race away from her but not in fear they all seemed to be almost smiling at her actions.  
"All that darkness and she can still get people to smile." He mumbles to himself unaware that his uncle had heard him and smiles to himself as he pictures them together as he thought they were perfect for one another.

It was the following morning on the Fire Nation ship and Zuko was sitting having his breakfast with his uncle said uncle devoured his food as Zuko looks around to see Rin training again but he thought to yesterday was there ever a time she wasn't working. He had known her for almost three years now and he couldn't recall ever a time where she was just having fun, it bothered him for some reason he wasn't clear on. The thought was interrupted when a messenger hawk screeches as it lands on Rin's shoulder, she stops her kick in mid-attack and holds her hand out towards the bird. It lands on her outstretched arm and she takes the scroll from its leg before letting the hawk flap its wings and takes off as she reads the message. "Prince Zuko, the Avatar was spotted in a prison not far from here just as I said they'll be holding them there till we get there this afternoon," Rin shouts over to him, he looks over at her and nods his head to her but he couldn't help but think if he found the Avatar would he see Rin again back at the Fire Nation.

They made it to the prison that afternoon on schedule but the Avatar wasn't there they had escaped their grasp again, Rin was shouting at the guards as Zuko looks around the deck and spots a necklace lying on the floor. He reaches down and grabs it, he looks out over the ocean to the setting sun thinking of his goal of finding the Avatar. He turns around to see the soldiers cowering in fear at Rin's wrath, he smiles to himself at her, he was amazed at how many emotions he still hadn't witnessed from her. "Look what I found." He says walking over to her. She stops shouting at the soldier and turns around to look at Zuko holding up the necklace to her eye level, she looks at the necklace closely before taking it from his hand.  
"It's the water tribe girl's right?" She asks looking at him, he nods feeling his cheeks heat up as she smiles at his find.  
"Indeed, she is always with the Avatar if we find her we find him." He concludes and smirks at the thought of going home finally.  
"We'll set sail right away and keep on his trail." She tells him seeing the hope in his eyes.


	8. Don't Ever Get Captured

_"Water... Earth... Fire... Air…" Katara voices over as the benders demonstrate as she talks. "My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of peace when the Avatar kept the balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked." It journeys into the map showing the world and closes in on a bender displaying all the elements. "Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless firebenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished." He disappears from sight. "A hundred years have passed and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe." It shows the Water Tribe men on their boats and Katara hugging her older brother Sokka holding up a lantern. "Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle is broken, but I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow the Avatar will return to save the world."_

 **Don't Ever Get Captured**

Early in the morning on the sea, the Fire Nation ship ploughs through the waves, on the deck, Prince Zuko sits with his Uncle eating their breakfast when Rin's shouts from the helm at the captain. "What you mean we have to go to port again? We were in port three days ago!" She shouts and Iroh freezes in fear at the frightful screams of Rin.

The ship ports and men begin getting ready to head off when all of a sudden Iroh races off as if to escape something or someone. Rin walks up next to Zuko looking at the dust cloud Iroh had left behind. "Does he not think I knew it was him from the start?" She asks him looking ahead.  
"He may be smart but sometimes I question him," Zuko replies.

* * *

Hours later somewhere in the forest in the Earth Kingdom Zuko emerges from some tall reeds into a clearing. "Uncle! It's time to leave! Where are you? Uncle Iroh!" He yells out he continues walking while RIn following behind him looking around, she stops spotting a fire soldier uniform hanging from a low branch of a tree.

With Iroh somewhere close by in a hot bath, the tub is made out of rock and is fed by a stream coming out of the rocks behind it. "Over here." He calls out happily to his nephew he hears getting closer unaware that Rin was meant to be with his nephew.  
"Uncle? We need to move on, we're closing in on the Avatar's trail and I don't want to lose him!" Zuko exclaims at his uncle growing in frustration.  
"You look tired, Prince Zuko. Why don't you join me in these hot springs and soak away your troubles." Iroh encourages his nephew.  
"My troubles cannot be soaked away. It's time to go!" Zuko yells at him growing more frustrated.  
"You should take your teacher's advice and relax a little. The temperature's just right. I heated it myself." Iroh advises him but really he just didn't want to leave quite yet. He shifts positions slightly, putting his hands together and breathes steam from his nose. Zuko annoyed swats the drifting steam away from his face.  
"Enough! We need to leave now! Get out of the water!" Zuko orders his Uncle.  
"Very well." Iroh agrees rising out of the water, this causes Zuko to cover his eyes at the view of his naked uncle.  
"Prince Zuko, I found some- oh god!" Rin shouts the last part as she covers her eyes. "I may never open my eyes again." She whispers to herself.  
"On second thought, why don't you take another few minutes, but be back at the ship in half an hour or we're leaving without you," Zuko tells him as he picks up the scarred General into his arms carrying her bridal style as she still covered her eyes. Iroh watches them leave as he sighs in happiness leaning back into the tub.

* * *

Back on the ship, Zuko and Rin arrive with everyone staring at the two as Rin is still in Zuko's arms carrying her as she shields her burning eyes. "What happened to the General, Prince Zuko?" One of the soldiers asks as they all walk over to aid their beloved General.  
"I wish not to speak of it, but she is not harmed," Zuko reassures them, Rin pulls her hands away from her eyes to see herself back on the ship as if she had blacked out after seeing such a horror, she jumps out of Zuko's hold and walks away to her room and hides under her covers.

* * *

Sometime later in the forest with Iroh soaking in his outdoor hot spring bath he's fallen asleep when a noise startles him awake. "Uh? Who's there?" He calls out scanning around the forest area in front of him. A small rodent jumps onto the lip of the bath, he stretches his hand out to it and it jumps onto his hand. "A meadow vole! I should have known. You started me, little one." He says letting the vole go and leans back in the bath putting his hands behind his head in a relaxed position. "Ehh, seems I've dozed off and missed my nephew's deadline, but it was a very sweet nap." He comments as the vole starts hopping up and down on the lip of the bath making chittering noises. Suddenly the vole stops, the ground begins to shake from deeper in the forest, the vole flips around to see dust clouds rise from the forest then it hops away. The ground tremors, at the movement, it soon reaches Iroh's bath and two other shock waves approach the back from the left and right side. The old General gets caught by surprise when the shockwaves reach his bathtub, he gets quickly held fast by three triangular stones that have were pushed into the tub. A second later, three Earthbenders appear next to the bathtub behind each of the three stone projectiles that hold Iroh imprisoned. An Earth Kingdom soldier takes Iroh's uniform off the tree, as another walks up to the bath.  
"He's a Fire Nation soldier." The soldier says looking at the uniform closely.  
"He's no ordinary soldier. This is the Fire Lord's brother, the Dragon of the West, the once great General Iroh, but now, he's our prisoner." The Captain informs his men as Iroh squints unhappily at his humiliating capture.

* * *

On the Fire Nation ship Zuko, Rin and a soldier ready to leave to find Iroh as he was late coming back. "I thought we were gonna be leaving him behind?" Rin teases the prince, he snaps his head over to her glaring at her, she knew from the beginning that the young prince would never leave his uncle.  
"Let's just go." He snaps and they set off into the forest to find him at his little hot spring.

* * *

In the forest, Zuko lowers a tree branch from eye-level so he can move forward, with Rin and a Fire Nation soldier behind him. He barges into the clearing he last saw his uncle to find the hot tub ruined. "Uncle! Uncle, where are you?" Zuko calls out to him.  
"Sir, maybe he thought you left without him?" The Soldier says clueless to the evidence in front of him, Rin turns to him smacking him on the back of the head making him fall to the ground.  
"Don't be stupid." She snaps looking over the area.  
"Something's not right here," Zuko says examining the hot tub, now with the stone projectiles embedded in it. "Rin come over here." He calls to her, she walks over looking at the stones and looks at the ground.  
"That pile of rocks…" She mumbles.  
"It looks like there's been a landslide, General." The Soldier replies looking at it.  
"Land doesn't slide uphill. Those rocks didn't move naturally." Rin informs them and looks at Zuko as it dawns on him.  
"My uncle's been captured by Earthbenders!" He yells out and Rin goes over to him before she jumps up the hill to look around on the ground for signs of which way they had gone.

* * *

Somewhere else the four soldiers that captured Iroh sit on war ostriches, a lantern hanging off the point soldier's mount, one of them bearing a basically naked and chained Iroh. "Where are you taking me?" Iroh asks them not really expecting an answer from them.  
"We're taking you to face justice." The Captain answers him vaguely.  
"Right. But where, specifically?" He asks again more clearly.  
"A place you're quite familiar with, actually. You once laid siege to it for 600 days, but it would not yield to you." The Captain answers with clues but Iroh knew the place well.  
"Ah! The great city of Ba-Sing-Se." Iroh guesses almost regretful of what the thoughts popping into his head.  
"It was greater than you were, apparently." The Captain tries hitting him with his words.  
"I acknowledged my defeat at Ba-Sing-Se! After 600 days away from home, my men were tired and I was tired - he yawns to prove his point - and I'm still tired." He tells his captures before he falls off the ostrich he was riding and the soldier stops to look. Iroh lies on the road, chained up tight but a smile on his face. They put a light on him picking him up again but not before he left his sandal behind for Zuko and Rin to find and he smiles to himself at the success of his little plan.

* * *

Down that same path Zuko, Rin and the soldier treck down for Zuko to see a sandal on the road, he picks it up sniffing it much to Rin's disgust and his too. "Yup, that's Uncle Iroh." He tells them and stands next to his war rhinoceros.  
"Then we best hurry, we don't want to lose them." Rin orders moving ahead.

* * *

Iroh and his captors continue down the path, Iroh looks up startled to see a blue dragon and Aang fly by overhead. They pass right over the heads of the captors, but it's clear that only Iroh could see anything. "What's the problem?" The Captain asks him not really caring.  
"Nothing. Actually, there is a bit of a problem. My old joints are feeling sore and achy and these shackles are too loose." Iroh tells him.  
"Too loose?" The Captain asks seeming confused as he had done it himself.  
"That's right. The cuffs are loose and they jangle around and bump my wrists. It would help me if you would tighten them so they wouldn't shake around so much." Iroh lies to the Captain.  
"Very well, Corporal, tighten the prisoner's handcuffs." The Captain orders him. They park the ostriches on the ground, the Corporal gets off his and touches Iroh's handcuffs, Iroh breathes on them. They become red hot and Iroh grabs the Corporal's hand putting them on the hot iron. The Corporal screams in pain at the hot red iron and Iroh hops off the ostrich and launches himself into the air, firing a blast of flame from his feet at the other soldiers on their ostriches. He rolls off the path, down the hill during the ensuing uproar. Iroh rolls down the hillside, still chained up. The Earthbender soldiers watch him from over the lip, they Earthbend a torrent of dirt rocking after him then slide down the hillside in pursuit. When they catch up to him, he gets almost buried.  
"He is too dangerous, Captain. We can't just carry him to the capital. We have to do something now." One of the soldiers argues with his Captain.  
"I agree. He must be dealt with immediately and severely." The Captain agrees with his men, while Iroh spits out a stone looking with disdain upon his captors.

* * *

Further down the path, Zuko and Rin atop their war rhinoceroses, they look over their shoulders to see Appa flying over in the distance. "The Avatar!" Zuko shouts in alarm, he yanks his reigns to turn back around, but then looks at Rin who is looking down at the trail leading them to his captured uncle. He looks back again in the direction he saw Appa and makes the decision to continue on looking for his uncle.  
"You did the right thing Zuko," Rin tells him feeling proud of him.

* * *

In an Earthen pit, Iroh and his captors, Iroh stretches over a large rock in the centre of the pit, his hands spread before him. "These dangerous hands must be crushed." The Captain says, he cries aloud as he raises a huge boulder from the ground and moves it to hover over Iroh's hands. He drops it, a moment later before it crushes Iroh's hands and arms, Zuko enters from the left kicking the boulder out of the way as Rin jumps down knocking two of the soldiers to the ground. Zuko lands on the ground and breaks the chains holding Iroh's hands bound with a kick and Iroh rises from the ground with a smile at his nephew.  
"Excellent form, Prince Zuko," Iroh tells him and sees Rin. "You too General Rin." He adds.  
"You taught me well." Zuko agrees, seeming to be almost bashful.  
"Surrender yourselves, it's five against three. You're clearly outnumbered." The Captain claims as the two Rin had taken down get back up, Rin, Iroh and Zuko stand back to back, they're surrounded by their would be captors.  
"Uh, that's true, but you are clearly outmatched!" Iroh tells them, as he knew that Rin herself could take them all out as the five Earthbenders launch stones at the trio. Iroh swings his chains breaking them into pieces mid-flight, while Zuko blasts the two nearest him with fire. The two soldiers behind Zuko shoot two large rocks at him, then Rin jumps into the air before landing on one of the soldier's heads making him fall to the ground as she jumps back up into the air again. Zuko almost gets hit when the stones are wrapped in Iroh's chain, he swings them around his body and releases them back at the other captor. He gets hit in the stomach the impact knocks him out, the Captain launches several rocks at Zuko, he dodges them and returns fire. The fire blast blocks when the Captain lowers his head and the fire breaks harmlessly over his helmet. The Captain raises two huge shoots of rock and Zuko looks at it in fear, but then chains wrap around the Captain's feet getting pulled to the ground by Iroh. The rocks land on top of him as Rin kicks the rest of the captors under just in time. The Earth Kingdom soldiers groan as there buried in dirt, Iroh, Rin and Zuko stand over them. The boys look at each other smiling, Zuko puts his hand on his uncle's shoulder.  
"Now would you please put on some clothes!" Zuko orders his uncle as he seems Rin with her hand over her eyes.

* * *

They make it back to the ship and Iroh is finally in clothes, RIn races off to the navigation room looking at a map of where the Avatar could have been heading or his next move. Zuko enters and watches her converse with the Captain, he saw that she was trying to help him get back home and he had only been focused on that then the people around him and his uncle being captured at made that come to light. "I think we've found him, we're going to make our way there now," Rin tells him but she wasn't even looking up at him, it was as if she just felt his presence in the room.

* * *

The brightness of the full moon over a mountain rage shines down on the village the Avatar and friends had just flown off from. The Chief of the village walks out of a door, he sighs to himself rubbing his forehead. He walks directly into Zuko who is with Iroh and Rin on the back of war rhinoceroses. "Having trouble sleeping?" Zuko asks pushing the Chief back into the doorway. "Seen the Avatar lately?"

* * *

They find the answers they needed and get onto the ship racing it through the ocean, on the deck they discuss the answers they found from the village Chief. "Sailing into Fire Nation waters… of all the foolish things you have done in your 16 years, Prince Zuko, this is the most foolish." Iroh tells his nephew with concern and growing frustrated at his nephew. Zuko stands in the forefront looking through a high powered spyglass. A guard behind Zuko to the left, Iroh behind him to the right with Rin next to him looking at the deck.  
"I have no choice, Uncle," Zuko tells him.  
"Have you completely forgotten that the Fire Lord banished you!?" Iroh asks him angrily looking at his nephew's back with a look of anguish and worry. "What if you're caught?" He asks him, he turns around from the spyglass.  
"I'm chasing the Avatar. My father will understand why I'm returning home." Zuko tells them.  
"You give him too much credit. My brother is not the understanding type." Iroh tries reasoning with him.  
"Tell me about it." Rin comments as Zuko turns back to the spyglass. He looks about to see the sky, he searches the skies for a few seconds till he identifies Appa's flying form in the distance.  
"There they are!" Zuko points out and Rin takes the spyglass from his hand and to spots the giant fluffy flying monster.  
"Helmsman, full steam ahead!" Rin orders than as they gain on the beast. A catapult raises from below onto the deck of the ship, they load the catapult with a steaming, smouldering projectile. Zuko, Rin and Iroh stand behind the catapult, Iroh fans himself, wrinkling his nose in disgust.  
"Really, Prince Zuko, couldn't you shoot them down with something more fragrant?" Iroh groans his nephew as he was terrified of Rin when she was in battle mode. Rin and Zuko shoot fireballs at the projectile igniting it. RIn raises her arm in the air and looks at her men.  
"On my mark….Fire!" She shouts as a Fire Nation soldier cuts the catapult's rope and the fiery projectile hurtles into the air. The fireball flies aimed for Appa, Katara turns around to see the fiery projectile heading straight for them.  
"Fire ball!" Katara shouts at Aang.  
"I'm on it!" He shouts back and pulls hard on Appa's reins making him swerve just in time. The fireball sails over his head.  
"We have to get out of their range before they shoot another hot stinker at us!" Katara tells him covering her nose with her hand.  
"Can't you make Appa go any faster?" Sokka asks him hoping to get there soon.  
"Yeah, but there's just one little problem," Aang tells them as it goes back to Zuko on the ship he looks ahead to see it too and his eyes widen at what he sees.  
"A blockade!" He shouts out to the crew as Rin looks at him before racing next to him seeing the same thing. There is a double line of Fire Nation war ships stretched to the horizon, lined with trebuchets.  
"Technically you are still in Earth Kingdom waters. Turn back now and they cannot arrest you." Iroh tells him as he stands behind them with some soldiers pulling at his beard in thought. Zuko glares at his uncle at the words he had spoken and turns to look at Rin as to what she would do. They look up at Appa and see that they are continuing on.  
"He's not turning around." Zuko states.  
"Please Prince Zuko, if the Fire Nation captures you, there is nothing I can do nor General Rin. Do not follow the Avatar." Iroh tries again to reason with him.  
"I'm sorry, Uncle." He bows his head and turns to the helmsman, and points forward. "Run the blockade!" He orders.

* * *

On another ship in the blockade Commander Zhao looks through a spyglass focusing first on Appa then on Zuko's ship. "The Avatar...and the banished Prince. This must be my lucky day." He smirks to himself.  
"Commander Zhao, what are your orders?" One of his soldiers asks him.  
"Shoot the Bison down." He answers.  
"But there's a Fire Navy ship out there, sir, one of our own. What if it's hit?" The soldier questions him.  
"So be it." Zhao snaps startling the soldier in alarm. "It belongs to a traitor." Zhao turns towards a soldier standing ready at the trebuchet. "Ignite!" He shouts and the soldier complies and each soldier ignites his assigned trebuchet. "Launch!" He shouts again. Fireballs fly into the air on either of Zhao, all the warships in the blockade launch fireballs at the same time.

* * *

Zuko, Iroh and Rin stand on the deck of their ship as they watch the approaching barrage of fireballs above them.

* * *

Appa, Aang, Sokka and Katara all scream as the fireballs come racing towards them. Appa swerves and dips and dives to avoid the fireballs. Aang clenches his teeth and tightens his hold on Appa's reins as he tries to help his friend avoid the fireballs. One grazes Appa's back, the others beat out the fire on Appa's back as he growls in anger and pain. "Appa! Are you okay?" Aang asks his best friend who makes a noise of affirmatively.

* * *

The fireballs sail towards Zuko's ship, on the deck of the ship, a soldier tries to keep his balance as the ship gets rocked by the waves created by the fireballs hitting the water close to the ship. One fireball lands extremely close to the ship and generates a wave that breaks across the deck. Another fireball hits the back of the ship, Zuko braces himself while holding Rin against the catapult. He turns towards the front of the ship, the engine master calls to Rin, she turns around to speak to him. The engine master points to the billowing fire and smoke behind him.  
"General Rin, the engines are damaged! We need to stop and make repairs!" He shouts down to her.  
"Do not stop this ship." She orders turning back towards the front of the ship.

* * *

On Commander Zhao's ship he stands by the trebuchets as they stand at the ready behind him. "Launch!" He commands and each ship launches multiple fireballs into the air.

* * *

Appa bursts through the clouds, a cumulus trail in his wake, Aang tries to help Appa avoid the fireball bombardment. In front of them, twelve fireballs shoot through the clouds, smoke trailing behind them. Appa swerves to miss one on his left, the others scream as Appa swerves and dives to avoid the fireballs. The smoke trails from multiple fireballs surround Appa, he flies directly past as fireballs continue to shoot through the sky. Two fireballs collide and explode directly in front of Appa, he growls and rears up to avoid the combustion. He bucks throwing Sokka to the back, as Katara screams reaching for Sokka, he begins to to fall, disappearing into the clouds below. Aang screams out to Sokka pulling hard on Appa's reigns and dives to catch Sokka before he hits the ocean. Appa gets beneath Sokka as he continues to fall, Katara reaches out her hand to catch him and they clasp. Appa hits the water, each of his six legs using the ocean's surface like a trampoline as he begins his ascent. A large pink fish gets thrown up from the ocean hitting Sokka directly in the face, he gasps and falls backwards as the fish bounces off his face getting caught by Momo.

* * *

On the Fire Navy ships as they let loose another barrage of fiery missiles, Appa still close to the surface of the water, swerves back and forth as fireballs land in the ocean. Aang fully concentrates on avoiding the fireballs while Zhao stands in the foreground, as a fully loaded trebuchet in the background and he raises his right arm into the air. "Ready…" He orders his men, while Appa flies headfirst into the Fire Navy blockade. The tension mounts as Appa flies closer and closer to the blockade line. "Fire!" He shouts out to his men then a single fireball shoots at Appa. They watch as the fireball approaches, with Aang having a determined look on his face, he leaps from Appa assuming the airbending pose. Aang and the fireball head for a collision course for one another, he grunts kicking a burst of air directly into the center of the approaching fireball. The fireball explodes from the inside out as a result of Aang's blast, the fragments form a halo of smoke and debris around Appa. He flies through the center of the halo and Aang loses his balance amidst the flying rubble and gets thrown back onto Appa's shoulders. Sokka and Katara grab his arms to steady him, Appa flies through the Fire Nation blockade as he becomes a tiny, white bison-shaped speck as he passes the blockade line and Aang raises his left fist into the air in celebration.  
"We made it!" He cheers with Sokka and Katara looking shocked and amazed.  
"We got into the Fire Nation…" Sokka says in pure disbelief then stops and slumps his shoulders. "...Great…"

* * *

With Commander Zhao on his ship, he gets approached by one of his soldiers. "Where do you think the Avatar is headed, sir?" He asks.  
"I'm not sure," Zhao answers him bowing his head, then turns his head towards Prince Zuko's ship which is still approaching. "But I bet a certain banished Prince and Glorious General will know." He tells his soldier.

* * *

The said Prince's ship approaches the Fire Navy's blockade, it gets closer, the ship of the blockade moves towards each other in order to bar his way. Iroh, Rin and Zuko stand on the deck looking out. "We're on a collision course!" Iroh exclaims as if they had no clue.  
"We can make it!" Zuko argues with him.

* * *

Then on Commander Zhao ship with a large group of Fire Nation soldiers standing at parade rest behind him with their leader snaps to attention and speaks. "The boarding party is ready to apprehend Prince Zuko, sir." The soldier informs Zhao.  
"Wait. Cut the engine. Let them pass." Zhao orders them.  
"Sir?" He asks confused, Zhao doesn't respond as he thinks over.

* * *

On Zuko's ship slides easily through the blockade thanks to Zhao which made Rin suspicions of this action. Iroh looks at the blockade fading into the distance, he looks pensive and strokes his beard. He's not sure what to make of the move Zhao had made and looks at Rin as she looks at the blockade with a hard glare as if she was unsure too.

* * *

Appa flies through the air space of the Fire Nation, he grunts and continues to fly, his tail begins to droop and as legs slacken as he gets more and more tired. Aang, Katara, Sokka and Momo relax on his back, later Aang starts falling asleep on Appa's head with Momo sleeping on Aang's head. When suddenly, Aang's face lights up in recognition. "There is it! The island Roku's dragon took me to!" Aang exclaims as in view is a crescent-shaped island appears through the clouds, in the center of the crescent is a large, active volcano. Fire and steam belch forth from its cone, Appa flies towards the island, the temple sits on a promontory directly below the volcano. Appa lands near the temple, and Aang pats Appa's face lovingly. "You did it buddy. Nice flying." He tells him lovingly, Appa groans and rolls onto his side in exhaustion. Katara walks towards Appa and begins to rub his tummy as Sokka stretches in the background.  
"Oh! You must be tired!" Katara says to the giant bison.  
"No," Sokka says thinking that she was talking to him as he grunts and stretches. "I'm good." As he jogs in place trying to loosen himself. "Refreshed and ready to fight some firebenders." He says.  
"I was talking to Appa." She tells him turning towards him with a wry look on his face.  
"Well, I was talking to Momo." He argues stopping mid-jog while Momo hangs upside down from a nearby tree, he chitters and looks at Sokka quizzically. Aang, Katara and Sokka walk hesitatingly up the steep path leading towards the Fire Temple. They continually look around themselves in anticipation of an attack, they make it to the low wall in front of the Fire Temple and crouch down behind the wall. "I don't see any guards." He points out.  
"The Fire Nation must have abandoned the temple when Avatar Roku died," Katara says looking around.  
"It's almost sundown. We'd better hurry." Aang tells them and leaps over the low wall. Sokka, Katara and Momo follow behind him and run through the temple. They tip-toeing through the centre of the temple then Sokka stops in mid tip-toe.  
"Wait…...I think I heard something." Sokka comments and they turn around to see behind them five elderly men in red robes. One of the elderly men speaks and identifies the group as Fire Sages.  
"We are the Fire Sages. Guardians of the temple of the Avatar." The Fire Sage announces as the others look at them puzzled and startled till Aang steps forward.  
"Great! I am the Avatar." Aang announces himself.  
"We know." The Fire Sage states then the other Fire Sages form the firebending pose and shoot fireballs at Aang.

* * *

Three fireballs swiftly approach Aang, he assumes the airbending pose and deflects the fireballs, he then turns towards Sokka and Katara. "I'll hold them off. Run!" Aang shouts the last bit to the others and turns back to face the Fire Sages as Sokka and Katara run down the corridor. His face shows determination as he bends low and swipes his leg in an arc sending a burst of air directly at the feet of the Fire Sages. All five of the Fire Sages are knocked down to the floor, face first. They grunt as they fall, then Aang runs after Sokka and Katara while the Fire Sages slowly pick themselves up off of the floor.  
"If the Avatar contacts Roku, there's no telling how powerful the boy will become. Split up and find him." The Fire Sage orders the others as they all move off in different directions. Katara, Sokka and Momo run through the temple, as they approach a corner, Aang comes running towards them but they stop abruptly to avoid running head first into Aang.  
"Follow me!" Aang tells them.  
"Do you know where you're going?" Sokka questions him.  
"Nope!" Aang answers him honestly then disappears around the corner. Sokka, Katara and Momo begin to follow him, then suddenly, Aang comes running back around the corner where one of the Fire Sages is hard on his heels."Wrong way!" He exclaims as he passes them.  
"Come back!" The Fire Sages shouts at them. They continue to race around a corner after corner trying to lose the pursuing Fire Sage, when finally, they run into a corridor that turns out to be a dead end, with no escape, they face the Fire Sage. "I don't want to fight you. I am a friend." He promises them as they take battle positions.  
"Firebenders aren't our friends," Sokka argues and the Fire Sage moves carefully towards them. As he approaches Aang, he drops to his knees and bows to him.  
"I know why you're here, Avatar." The Fire Sage tells him.  
"You do?" Aang asks him surprised and relaxes his body.  
"Yes." The Fire Sage answers standing back up. "You wish to speak to Avatar Roku. I can take you to him." He tells Aang as all their faces show quizzical and wary faces.  
"How?" Aang asks him and the Fire Sage reaches towards the wall and turns the light fixture. The fixture turns out to be a lever, behind the fixture is a small hole in the wall. The Fire Sage takes a deep breath and shoots fire through the hole, fire frames one of the panels in the wall, the panel slides back and to the right. The secret passage is revealed. A long staircase carved into the rock of the mountain disappears into the dark below.  
"This way." The Fire Sage gestures towards the secret passage. The others still show apprehension and distrust on their faces, when they suddenly hear a voice from behind the Fire Sage say, "Find them." The Fire Sage looks quickly and nervously behind him and turns back to the others. "Time is running out. Quickly!" He tells them. Aang and Katara look at each other and nod in agreement and all three start towards the opening of the secret passage. The Fire Sage follows them into the passage and touches a lever and closes the door behind them.

* * *

On Prince Zuko's damaged ship as it sails through the water, dark smoke billows from the back of the ship. Zuko grips the bar his hands clenched with Zuko, Iroh and Rin on the deck of the ship. "What's he up to, Uncle? Why didn't Commander Zhao arrest me?" Zuko asks him confused on the actions of their enemy.  
"Because he wants to follow you. He knows you'll lead him to the prize you're both after...the Avatar." Rin answers as she still looks behind them at where the blockade was.  
"If Zhao wants to follow our trail of smoke, then that's exactly what I'll let him do." He comments with a determined look on his face. The sun is now setting to the left with the silhouette shadow of the Fire Temple.

* * *

Aang, Katara, Sokka, Momo and the Fire Sage walk down the stairs into a vast and cavernous system of tunnels. They continue to walk through the tunnels, the live magma from the volcano to their right. "Avatar Roku once called this temple his home. He formed these secret passages out of the magma." The Fire Sage informs them as they walk.  
"Did you know Avatar Roku?" Aang asks him wanting to know more about the Avatar before him.  
"No. But my grandfather knew him. Many generations of Fire Sages guarded this temple long before me. We all have a strong spiritual connection to this place." The Fire Sage replies.  
"Is that how you knew I was coming?" Aang asks him.  
"A few weeks ago, an amazing thing occurred. The statue of Avatar Roku, its eyes...began to glow!" The Fire Sage tells them.  
"That's when we were at the Air Temple. Avatar Roku's eyes were glowing there too!" Katara exclaimed.  
"At that moment, we knew you had returned to the world." The Fire Sage tells him.  
"If this is the Avatar's temple, why did the Sages attack me?" Aang asks him.  
"Things have changed. In the past, the Sages were loyal only to the Avatar. When Roku died, the Sages eagerly awaited for the next Avatar to return. But he never came." The Fire Sage informs him, Aang pauses and leans against the tunnel wall.  
"They were waiting for me," Aang says mostly to himself as he felt terrible about his past actions. Sokka walks over putting his arm around Aang's shoulders.  
"Hey, don't feel bad. You're only a hundred years late." Sokka teases him but Aang just glares at him.  
"They lost hope the Avatar would ever return. When Fire Lord Sozin began the war, my grandfather and the other Sages were forced to follow him." The Fire Sage says shaking his head in dismay. "I never wanted to serve the Fire Lord. When I learned you were coming, I knew I would have to betray the other Sages."  
"Thank you for helping me," Aang says bowing slightly to the Fire Sage, and he smiles warmly at the young Avatar then they climb up the steps in the tunnel.  
"We'll follow these stairs to the sanctuary." The Fire Sage as they continue to climb up and up the long deep spiral of stairs. "Once you're inside, wait for the light to hit Avatar Roku's statue. Only then will you be able to speak with him." The light from a single window shining into an otherwise dark room, suddenly, the floor lifts up and the Fire Sage's head appears. He walks up the final steps into the temple, followed by Aang, Katara, Sokka and Momo, they proceed towards the doors to the sanctuary when the Fire Sage gasps suddenly.  
"NO!" The Fire Sage shouts.  
"Shyu, what's wrong?" Aang asks him confused why he was reacting.  
"The sanctuary doors, they're closed," Shyu tells them.  
"Can't you just open them with firebending? Like you open the other door?" Katara asks him.  
"No. Only a fully realised Avatar is powerful enough to open this door alone. Otherwise, the Sages must open the doors together with five simultaneous fire blasts." Shyu tells them as Sokka looks at the sanctuary doors scratching his chin thoughtfully.  
"Five fire blasts, huh?" Sokka asks then his face lights up with an idea. "I think I can help you out." He tells the others.

* * *

On Prince Zuko's ship, smoke still pouring out of the damaged rear engine, Zuko instructs the men to open the back hatch of the ship. A smaller vessel gets lowered into the ocean and he begins to speak to his uncle. "Uncle, keep heading north. Zhao will follow the smoke trail while I use it as a cover." Zuko tells him but he just grunts, stroking his beard and shakes his head disapprovingly at his young nephew and hums to himself. The smaller ship gets deployed and lands safely in the water and disappears into the smoke.  
"I think you'll find that I will be coming with you, Prince Zuko," Rin tells him.  
"No, I have to do this alone." He tries arguing with her but she just walks away ordering her men for their departure, but he already knew that she was coming with him.

* * *

Back on Commander Zhao ship, he looks through the spyglass, just as Zuko had predicted, all he can see is the black smoke from the damaged ship and lowers the spyglass from his face.

* * *

In the Fire Temple, Sokka, Katara, Shyu and Aang stand in front of the doors to the Fire Temple Sanctuary, Sokka sits on the floor, with Momo on his knee. Sokka fills small sacks. "This is a little trick I picked up from my father. I seal the lamp oil inside an animal skin casing, Shyu lights the oil-soaked twine and tada! Fake firebending!" Sokka says feeling so proud of himself.  
"You've really outdone yourself this time, Sokka," Katara says to her older brother.  
"This might actually work." Shyu comments and Sokka stuffs the animal skin sacks into the mouths of the five lion heads guarding the door to the sanctuary. Sokka runs away from the door and joins the others behind the nearest columns for protection from the blasts. "The Sages will hear the explosions, so as soon as they go off, you rush in." He tells them.  
"It's almost sunset. Are you ready?" Katara asks turning towards Aang.  
"Definitely." He answers almost confidently. Shyu sends a small stream of fire past the five lion heads and the twine ignites and he joins Aang behind the column. Sokka crouches down and holds tightly onto Katara's skirt then the small bombs go off and smoke fills the chamber. Aang runs towards the sanctuary door and pulls on the handles but the door will not budge.  
"They're still locked," Aang tells the others.  
"It didn't work," Shyu says dejectedly as Aang sinks to the floor.

* * *

They stand in front of the doors to the sanctuary, Aang angrily hurls air blasts at the locked doors. "Why won't it open! Aargh!" Aang exclaims in frustration then Katara grabs his arm.  
"Aang, stop! There's nothing else we can do." She tells him and he hangs his head.  
"I'm sorry I put you through all this for nothing." He says as Sokka approaches the doors. He runs his finger through the soot produced by the blasts as Momo chitters and crawls over the lion faces.  
"I don't get it. That blast looked as strong as any firebending I've seen." Sokka comments.  
"Sokka! You're a genius!" Katara cheers at what he had just said.  
"Wait, how is Sokka a genius? His plan didn't even work." Aang points out.  
"Come on Aang, let her dream," Sokka argues.  
"You're right. Sokka's plan didn't work...but it looks like it did." She points out.  
"Did the definition of 'genius' change in the last hundred years?" Aang asks her. They come up with a plan and set it into action as Shyu leads the four other Fire Sages to the sanctuary's doors.  
"Hurry! The Avatar has entered the sanctuary," Shyu warns the others.  
"How did he get in?" One of the other Fire Sages asks him.  
"I don't know. But look at the scorch marks and down there!" He tells them and points to the space between the doors and floor with a shadow, as if there were two feet, moving back and forth.  
"He's inside. Open the doors immediately before he contacts Avatar Roku." The Fire Sage orders the others as Aang perches on the dragon's tail wrapped around the columns. He slowly inches his way to the floor, ready to run the minute the Fire Sages open the doors as the five Fire Sages get into the firebending pose. They shoot five fire blasts into the lion's heads on the face of the door and smoke appears around the door jambs. As the fire blasts work their way through the lock, the doors begin to creak and open slowly and the light from the interior of the sanctuary is initially blinding. As it begins to dissipate, the Fire Sages see a lone Momo inside the sanctuary and he sneezes and looks quizzically at the Fire Sages. "It's the Avatar's lemur! He must have crawled through the pipes! We've been tricked!" He exclaims and Momo suddenly leaps at the Fire Sage's face, knocking him down. Katara and Sokka jump from behind two columns and grab the two nearest Fire Sages and pull the Fire Sage's clothes over their heads. Shyu grabs the last Fire Sage and they are all finally subdued.  
"Now, Aang!" Shyu shouts out to him.  
"Aang! Now's your chance!" Katara shouts when Zuko and Aang appear from behind a column. Zuko takes Aang as a prisoner, he holds Aang by his arms tightly behind his back while Rin slowly walks towards them.  
"The Avatar's coming with me!" Zuko announces as the tables have turned for Katara, Sokka, Shyu and Momo and Momo flies towards the ceiling. The others are tied up with chains to the nearest column as Zuko pushes the struggling Aang towards the opening in the floor that leads to Avatar Roku's secret tunnels and Rin is talking quietly with the Fire Sages. "Close the doors! Quickly!" He orders them and Aang looks over his shoulder at Sokka and Katara. As he and Zuko reach the opening, he makes several swift moves knocking Zuko off balance. Aang kicks Zuko down the stairs and turns around quickly, Rin races over to see Zuko tumble down the stairs grunting in pain. Aang runs towards the doors of the sanctuary which are beginning to close slowly.  
"Stop him!" RIn orders the Fire Sages as she gets into a firebending pose and fires a blast at the Avatar.  
"Go!" Katara shouts and Aang banks left then jumps into the air to avoid a fire blast. He does several turns in mid-air, he uses the heads of two of the Fire Sages as stepping stones on his way to the doors. He sails through the doors just as they finally close behind him and they slam shut and the locks grind as he made it inside. "He made it!" She cheers as a blast of bright white light comes from behind the sanctuary doors.

In the entryway, four of the Fire Sages and Zuko assume firebending poses and shoot five simultaneous fire blasts at the doors. This time, however, the lock mechanism does not respond like the last time and Zuko gets aggravated as Rin stands leaning against the door watching them. "Why isn't it working? It's sealed shut!" Zuko exclaims getting aggravated.  
"It must have been the light. Avatar Roku doesn't want us inside." One of the Fire Sages guesses which don't go over too well with the banished Prince. They get Shyu kneeling on the floor in front of Zuko and Rin with his hands tied behind his back and the four Fire Sages standing behind him.  
"Why did you help the Avatar?" Zuko asks Shyu.  
"Because it was once the Sages' duty. It is still our duty." Shyu answers him honestly. Suddenly, from behind Zuko and Rin, comes the sound of one pair of hands clapping, it was Commander Zhao approaching them with Fire Nation troops.  
"What a moving and heartfelt performance. I'm certain the Fire Lord will understand when you explain why you betrayed him." Zhao tells the kneeling Fire Sage.  
"Commander Zhao…" The other Fire Sages bow to him.  
"And Prince Zuko, General Rin, it was a noble effort. But your little smoke screen didn't work. Two traitors, and a Glorious General, in one day, the Fire Lord will be pleased." Zhao comments as a Fire Nation soldier moves towards Zuko and Rin to grab them but they struggle.  
"I told you it wouldn't work." Rin snaps at the Prince.  
"You're too late, Zhao. The Avatar's inside and the doors are sealed." Zuko tells him ignoring Rin's comment.  
"No matter. Sooner or later, he has to come out." Zhao says as Sokka and Katara exchange worried glances between each other for their friend.

Commander Zhao and his troops standing in front of the sanctuary doors, waiting for Aang to emerge from inside and the troops assume the firebending pose. "When those doors open, unleash all your firebending power," Zhao orders his troops. Over with Sokka, Katara and Shyu still chained to one of the columns.  
"How's Aang going to make it out of this?" Katara asks them worried for her friend.  
"How're we going to make it out of this"?" Sokka asks mostly worried about himself as the Fire Nation troops stand ready to attack.

At the door of the Fire Temple sanctuary comes a blinding light from inside the sanctuary, Commander Zhao and his troops are silhouetted against the blinding light. Smoke billows out into the entryway from the bottom of the door, the Fire Sages look at the floor in shock and fear of what is to come. The light from the sanctuary continues to grow, Sokka, Katara and Shyu turn their heads away to shield their eyes. Zhao and his troops in front of the doors begin to open, slowly. Zuko and Rin tied to another column to turn their heads away from the blinding light coming from the sanctuary as Zhao and two of his soldiers stand ready to attack. "Ready…" Zhao says to his men and the light fades as the doors begin to fully open, two large glowing eyes are visible in the dark of the sanctuary. Smoke continues to emanate from inside the sanctuary and the two water tribe siblings struggle against their chains.  
"No! Aang!" Katara shouts out to her friend as Commander Zhao gets into a firebending pose.  
"Fire!" Zhao orders his men, they shoot several fire blasts into the sanctuary. They all concentrate all their fire power at the entrance to the sanctuary but the fire blasts don't enter the sanctuary. They are being held at the door and manipulated into a gigantic ball of swirling fire, it slowly begins to open and at the heart of the fireball is Avatar Roku, his eyes glowing. Zhao is shocked at what he sees.  
"Avatar Roku!" Shyu exclaims in shock at what he is seeing as Avatar Roku draws the fireball back towards himself and shoots it out into the room. Zhao and his soldiers get knocked to the floor, the heat of the blast melts the chains holding Sokka, Katara, Shyu, Zuko and Rin, now that they're free they run for safety.

Outside of the Fire Temple, Avatar Roku's blast has breached the temple walls and his whole body is now glowing, he looks at the cowering Fire Sages and they take flight running for their lives. "Avatar Roku's going to destroy the temple! We have to get out of here!" Shyu warns them,  
"Not without Aang!" Katara argues as Avatar Roku stands in the doorway to the sanctuary. He raises his arm and brings down on the floor of the temple, the force of his strike rends the floor and molten lava rises to the surface. He lifts his hand up, pulling the magma from deep within the volcano and a wall of magma shoots up through the entire temple structure. The lava explodes out of the very top of the temple, Zhao and his men race down the stairs of the temple. Sokka Katara are crouched behind a column for protection and Avatar Roku lowers his hands. He takes a deep breath and pushes his breath down and the sunlight moves up his face and the eyes of the statue are no longer illuminated by the setting sun of the solstice. The smoke created by Avatar Roku's pyrotechnics are sucked back towards him as he is completely shrouded in the smoke. As the smoke swirls and dissipates, Aang is standing in the entryway to the sanctuary, his eyes are glowing then closes his eyes, groaning and sinks to the floor. Katara and Sokka run to his side joining him.  
"We got your back," Sokka tells him.  
"Thanks. Where's Shyu?" Aang asks them.  
"I don't know," Katara answers him.

* * *

Outside of the Fire Temple, molten lava pours down the sides of the volcano, smoke billowing from the bottom of the temple. The temple begins to sink into the ground.

* * *

Sokka, Katara and Aang, approach the stairs that lead them out of the temple, lava has reached all but the top few steps. They realise that they are trapped, one of the columns crashes to the floor behind them, they gasp and run towards the hole in the temple wall created by Roku's blast. They see that the temple is being devoured by the volcano, they look on in dismay, when suddenly, they gasp to see Momo and Appa fly full speed towards the temple. Sokka, Aang and Katara slide down one of the peaks of the temple onto Appa's back and he zooms away just as the temple sinks further down.

* * *

They sit on Appa's back, Aang has his arms resting on a bundle of scrolls and Momo hops up onto his lap, chittering. Momo has the hat of one of the Fire Sages on top of his head.

* * *

In view of the temple with Commander Zhao's ship in the bay, the temple explodes and he watches Appa flying off into the sunset. "No Prince. No General. No Avatar. Apparently, the only thing I do have is five traitors." Zhao says angrily.  
"But Commander, only Shyu helped the Avatar." One of the Fire Sages argues.  
"Save your stories for the Fire Lord. As far as I'm concerned, you're all guilty! Take them to the prison hold!" Zhao orders his men.

* * *

Prince Zuko catches Appa through his spyglass, he watches the bison fly away and slowly lowers his spyglass. Rin and Zuko stand on their ship sailing away from the ruined Fire Temple, Rin raises her hand hitting Zuko on the back of the head, he groans in pain. "What was that for?" He asks her already knowing the answer.  
"For getting us caught, I told you the smoke screen wouldn't work but did you listen? Nooo. You didn't, because you're Prince Zuko you obviously know everything." Rin complains as she smacks Zuko's arm while talking.  
"Okay, I'm sorry." Zuko apologises to her as he too knew the look in her eyes at the embarrassment of getting caught it made you feel terrible. He wanted to comfort her but he wasn't too sure about how he was meant to do that so they settled with silence as they made their way back to the main ship.


	9. Us Girls Got To Stick Together

_"Water... Earth... Fire... Air…" Katara voices over as the benders demonstrate as she talks. "My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of peace when the Avatar kept the balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked." It journeys into the map showing the world and closes in on a bender displaying all the elements. "Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless firebenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished." He disappears from sight. "A hundred years have passed and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe." It shows the Water Tribe men on their boats and Katara hugging her older brother Sokka holding up a lantern. "Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle is broken, but I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow the Avatar will return to save the world."_

 **Us Girls Have To Stick Together**

On the prow of the Fire Navy ship, as it breaks through the water, a jet of fire erupts off the main deck. Zuko fires off blast after blast of fire at his sparring opponent with Rin watching on closely, when suddenly the ship tilts to starboard, knocking both combatants off balance and Rin rushes to the helmsman at the wheel to see what is happening. "Someone's changing our course!" Zuko shouts out the obvious, then he too enters the room.

"What's the meaning of this mutiny? No one told you to change course!" Rin shouts at the Captain as Zuko enters the room, the Captain looking very sorry for himself and points behind him to reveal Iroh and some other crewman playing Pai Sho nearby.  
"Actually, someone did. I assure you it is a matter of utmost importance, General Rin." Iroh says with a slight fear of the young powerful woman.  
"Is it something to do with the Avatar?" Zuko asks his uncle hoping it was actually important.  
"Even more urgent. It seems… I've lost my lotus tile." Iroh tells them as he moves a piece forward on the Pai Sho board.  
"Lotus tile?" Zuko asks him confused.  
"For my Pai Sho game. Most people think the lotus tile insignificant, but it is essential for the unusual strategy that I employ." Iroh explains himself to them.  
"You've changed our course for a stupid lotus tile?" Zuko asks almost in a rage.  
"See, you, like most people, underestimate its value. Just give me ten minutes to check the merchants at this port of call. Hopefully, they'll have the lotus tile in stock and I can get on with my life!" Iroh says casually not looking at Zuko as he works hard to contain his anger, he releases a gout of flame from his mouth that licks over the ceiling. Iroh gets clouded with smoke as Rin stands by Zuko and pushes him out of the room to get him away from the oblivious man. "I'm lucky to have such an understanding nephew." He smiles to himself.

Outside as Rin pushes the stubborn prince down onto the deck. "Think about it, if we look around, ask about the Avatar what will happen?" She asks him.  
"We waste time." He replies stupidly making Rin get frustrated.  
"No, stupid we get intel on where he could have been seen or where he is and we don't waste time on looking around everywhere." She corrects him and pulls him back to his sparring partner. "Continue on with your spar little boy." She laughs and walks back into the helmsman leaving a slightly blushing and confused prince back on deck.

* * *

They dock the ship at the village where unknown to them the Avatar and friends were at, Zuko, Iroh and Rin are walking around the market area. Zuko has his arms folded across his chest and stares ahead, clearly unhappy while Rin was looking around at every vendor on their market stalls. "I've checked all the shops on their pier. Not a lotus tile in the entire marketplace." Iroh complains.  
"It's good to know this trip was a complete waste of time for everyone!" Zuko shouts turning to his uncle.  
"Quite the contrary. I always say the only thing better than finding something you were looking for, is finding something you weren't looking for at a great bargain!" Iroh argues as Rin stops at a vendor looking over some small trinkets. Behind them is a parade of Fire Nation soldiers walking by carrying armloads of merchandise that Iroh has just bought. One of them is some kinds of a brass musical instrument along with other things.  
"You bought a sumki horn?" Zuko asks his uncle.  
"For music night on the ship. Now, if we only had some woodwinds." Iroh tells him. "General Rin, has something interested you yet?" He asks her seeing her still looking at the small trinkets stall. She looks up as if she had been caught doing something she shouldn't be, she picks up a small purple perfume-like bottle with a beautiful design and pays the vendor before catching up to them.  
"Why that?" Zuko asks her as they begin walking down the dock to see a pirate ship docked there.  
"My mother, she loved the colour purple, it reminded me of her, I guess," Rin answered looking down at the small trinket in her hand.  
"This place looks promising!" Iroh points out looking at the pirate ship, there was a red jewelled monkey displayed as Iroh looks around while Rin and Zuko stand about waiting for Iroh to finish. "Ooo! That is handsome! Wouldn't it look magnificent in the galley?" Iroh gushes not really seeming like he wanted to get their opinions. Rin looks over to see the Pirate Captain speak with the Pirate Barker about something and nudges Zuko to get his attention and looks over to the two speaking and hear about some kids that fit the Avatar and his friends had escaped. Meanwhile, Iroh picks up the red jewelled monkey with a huge gleaming grin on his face as if this were heaven.  
"We lost the Water Tribe girl and the little bald monk she was travelling with." The Pirate Barker tells his Captain.  
"This monk, did he have an arrow on his head?" Zuko asks walking over as he had overheard their conversation thanks to Rin who had a massive grin as she knew she could tease the Prince now even more than usual. Iroh makes monkey noises in the background and Rin goes over to him taking the red jewelled monkey off him as if taking candy away from a child.

* * *

On the ship, the prow opens and deploy a small cutter craft that steams away and moves up the river with the pirate ship parallel to one another. On the deck of one of the ships, Zuko, Rin and the Pirate Captain, who has a green parrot still on his shoulder, converse. "Shouldn't we stop to search the woods?" The Pirate Captain asks the two Fire Nation teens.  
"We don't need to stop. They stole a waterbending scroll, right?" Rin asks him as if he were stupid and he agrees not too happy with her tone or her.  
"Then they'll be on the water," Zuko adds on.

* * *

The sky is dark with the full moonlight, it seems so peaceful while Zuko, Rin and the Pirate Captain stand on the deck of one of their ships, they hear something close by and look at one another.

* * *

A little further down, Katara wields a stream of water. "Okay, Katara, shift your weight through the stance…" She coaches herself and the stream collapses and she groans in annoyance. She suddenly hears the noise of grinding metal close by. She runs over to a row of bushes on her left and parts the leaves to reveal the Fire Nation cutter craft now beached on the river bank. She turns around to make a run for it, but there stands one of the pirates, he grabs hold of her. "No, let go of me!" She shouts and bends a water whip around and smacks the pirate in the face. He lets go of her, but she runs right into Zuko's arms and quickly takes hold of her.  
"I'll save you from the pirates." Zuko jokes as Rin pokes her head out from behind him.  
"Then I'll save her from you." Rin teases him taking Katara into her hold. "Us girls have to stick together." She laughs.

* * *

They tie Katara to the trunk of a small tree, her hands behind the trunk as the pirates and Rin's soldiers surround her. "Tell me where he is and I won't hurt you or your brother." Zuko tries bribing her but it doesn't seem to be working.  
"Go jump in the river!" Katara shouts back at him.  
"Try to understand. I need to capture to restore something I've lost. My honour. Perhaps in exchange, I can restore something you've lost." He asks her as he holds up her mother's necklace, the look of shock moves across her features. Zuko walks away with the necklace handing it to Rin who looks at it.  
"My mother's necklace! How did you get that?" She accuses him.  
"I didn't steal it if that's what you're wondering. Tell me where he is." He bargains with her.  
"No!" She shouts back at him in outrage at the thought of betraying Aang.  
"Enough of this necklace garbage. You promised the scroll!" The Pirate Captain says walking towards them.  
"I wonder how much money this is worth?" Rin asks the Captain as she produces the said scroll and makes a fire in her hand beneath it, the pirates all gasp and cry out to her. "A lot, apparently. Now you help us find what we want, you'll get this back and everyone goes home happy. Search the woods for the boy and meet back here." She orders them with an almost evil smirk on her face.  
"Fine." The Pirate Captain replies sullenly.

* * *

The pirate ship beached on the river bank, the pirates, Zuko, Rin and her men line up facing each other with Katara still bound to the tree, Iroh stands next to her. The pirates have Sokka and Aang tied up, and Rin holds the scroll for safekeeping. "Nice work." Zuko comments.  
"Aang, this is all my fault," Katara says sadly ashamed of herself.  
"No, Katara it isn't," Aang replies trying to make her feel better.  
"Yeah, it kind of is." Iroh butts in.  
"Give me the boy," Zuko orders the Pirate Captain.  
"You give us the scroll." The Pirate Captain retorts.  
"You're really gonna hand over the Avatar for a stupid piece of parchment?" Sokka asks butting into the conversation.  
"Don't listen to him! He's trying to turn us against each other." Rin warns them pointing to the other ponytail teen.  
"Your friend is the Avatar?" The Pirate Captain asks looking at Aang.  
"Sure is, and I'll bet he'll fetch a lot more on the black market then that fancy scroll." Sokka reasons appearing at the Captain's side.  
"Shut your mouth, you Water Tribe peasant!" Zuko exclaimed trying to keep him quiet.  
"Yeah, Sokka, you really should shut your mouth…" Aang tells his friend concerned at what could happen.  
"I'm just sayin', it's bad business sense. Just imagine how much the Fire Lord would pay for the Avatar. You guys would be set for life!" Sokka tells them looking sweetly at the obviously very interested pirates at what he was trying to sell them then the Pirate Captain points at Zuko.  
"Keep the scroll! We can buy a hundred with the reward we will get for the kid." The Pirate Captain tells them and they begin to walk away with the kids.  
"You'll regret breaking a deal with me!" Zuko yells after them.  
"Men." Rin just simply says quietly. Her, Zuko and the soldiers on either side of them unleash a torrent of flame, which bathes the ground underneath the pirates who jump out of the way. The Pirate Salesmen jumps into the midst of the firebenders with a cry as Zuko, Rin and her men bear down on the still bound Aang and Sokka. As they get closer, four more pirates jump into the fray to defend their captives then they drop a smoke bomb and the battlefield instantly becomes a foggy mess. The remaining Fire Nation soldiers approach the edge of the crowd and instantly get pulled in by their arms by the pirates emerging from the smoke. Outside of the smoke-filled battlefield Katara is still bound to the tree and Momo climbs down the trunk and chews open her bonds.  
"Thanks, Momo. I owe you a bushel of apples." Katara tells him smiling at the lemur. Aang runs through the smoke, coughing, his hands still bound too with a near misses with a throwing star and a spear cutting Aang's bonds. Zuko emerges outside of the smoke cloud and sees Rin standing there looking at the smoke and him smirking as if she knows something.  
"Why aren't you fighting?" Zuko asks her.  
"I don't feel like it." She answers still smirking as she tucks the waterbending scroll through her waistband on her back. She points behind Zuko and he turns around to just about avoid a sword stroke. Zuko assumes a firebending stance, the Pirate Captain points a sword at him, they struggle, but no one gains an advantage. Somehow a sling removes the scroll from Rin's waistband and the pirate who threw the sling gets intercepted by Momo as it returns to him and takes the scroll. Momo, in turn, gets pursued by the Pirate Captain's green parrot, which tackles Momo in mid-air. The lemur drops the scroll, it falls back down into the smoke-filled battlefield, jets of flame erupt from the smoke at various points. Sokka crawls on the ground, with the sound of steel hitting steel all around him and out of the smoke a machete buries itself in the ground in front of Sokka, scaring him, He then uses the blade to cut his arm bonds off.  
"Aang, are you there?" Sokka asks him in the smoke and Aang airbends himself up over the smoke cloud, then drops back down.  
"I'm over there, follow my voice!" Aang shouts out to him.  
"Where? I can't find you!" Sokka yells out to him.  
"I'm right here!" Aang shouts out again, He gives up and assumes an airbending stance and blows away the smoke from the immediate area to reveal a mix of Fire Nation soldiers and pirates in mid-combat. They all freeze and look at him then he closes the smoke back up around him to hide. "Uhh, never mind! I'll find you!" He yells. Sokka crawls out of the smoke and gets up off the ground but as she does, Aang jumps out of the smoke over Sokka's head and they hear a cough from their left to see a smirking Rin. "Run!" Aang screams in fear as he remembered what Avatar Roku had said about her.

* * *

 _"What if I can't master all the elements in this time? What if I fail?" Aang asked Roku.  
"I know you can do it Aang, for you have done it before. One last thing before the solstice ends. You've met a General Rin, correct?" Roku asked the young Avatar.  
"Yeah, she's really powerful," Aang commented on what he had seen from the General.  
"Beware of her, she is very powerful not completely of this world. The solstice is ending. We must go our separate ways...for now." Roku vaguely warned Aang._  
 _"What do you mean not completely of this world?" Aang asked Roku but saw that he wasn't going to get an answer. "But I won't be able to come back to the temple. I have questions? How will I talk to you?" He asked Roku.  
"I am a part of you. When you need to talk to me again, you will find a way." Roku tells him being very vague and he closes his eyes._

* * *

Sokka and Aang run towards the pirate ship for their lives in fear of the General behind them, while Katara tries to push the pirate ship off the beach. "Katara! You're okay!" Aang cheers forgetting about the gaining General behind them.  
"Help me get this boat back in the water so we can get out of here!" Katara tells them. All three of them begin to push on the boat, but nothing seems to be happening and Rin stops looking at them trying then starts walking slowly. The others stop and look up at the prow of the ship.  
"We need a team of rhinos to budge this ship." Sokka comments.  
"A team of rhinos...or two waterbenders." Aang corrects his friend. Katara looks at Aang and smiles at him in glee, they pull the river back and forth up the beach, slowly raising the water level around the prow and the ship floats but Rin sees this and races over to them.  
"Everybody in!" Katara calls out to the boys.

* * *

The duel between Zuko and the Pirate Captain continues but Iroh breaks them up. "Are you so busy fighting you cannot see your own ship has set sail?" He asks them.  
"We have no time for your proverbs, Uncle!" Zuko snaps at him.  
"It's no proverb." He argues pointing to the ship sailing downriver.  
"Bleeding hog-monkeys!" The Pirate Captain shouts running after his ship as Zuko laughs at his misfortune. The pirate ship continues down the river and the Fire Nation ship follows after it, loaded with pirates, one of them moves to moon Zuko and Iroh and a purple flame knock one of them down to the floor.  
"Hey! That's my boat!" Rin screams as Zuko runs after it passed her.  
"Maybe it should be a proverb." Iroh comments.  
"Come on, Uncle!" Zuko shouts behind him at his uncle.

* * *

Aang looks astern at the pirates as they close in on them and he turns to yell towards the others. "Sokka! Can't you make it go any faster?" Aang asks him as the pirates gain on them as Sokka stands at the wheel of the ship.  
"I don't know how. This thing wasn't made by the water tribe." Sokka complains, blaming the ship, not his skill. The pirates pass them and become parallel to them, the pirates begin to jump onto their own ship. Two pirates advance on Katara in the foreground, as she backs up, Aang stands on top of the cabin, waterbending a huge wave onto the deck that washes one of the pirates overboard. Katara seems afraid at first, but then gains confidence and determination in her continence and creates a water whip smacking the other pirate overboard. Katara beams at herself proud she was finally able to a water whip at last.  
"Hey, you did the water whip!" Aang cheers for her, proud of her too.  
"I couldn't have done it without your help!" Katara tells him. Sokka stands on the bridge with a beefy pirate and the pirate salesmen on him too.  
"Will you two quit congratulating each other and help me out!" Sokka calls out for the others. Momo flies across, closely pursued by the Captain's parrot, it soon ends with Momo trapping the parrot by wrapping him in the pirate vessel's black flag. Sokka gets held aloft by the beefy pirate, he screams as the pirate throws him into the sail in front of him and falls with a thud to the deck below.  
"That's good!" The Pirate Barker laughs, Aang drops in throwing the Pirate Salesmen through the guardrail and with a huge blast of air. He twirls the beefy pirate around on a whirlwind of air for a few seconds before ejecting him high into the air. He comes back down, landing with a splash in the river and Aang jumps down by Sokka.  
"Aang, look!" Katara points out, over the sound of falling water. They rapidly approach a large waterfall, as the Pirate Barker sneaks behind Aang.  
"Oh, no!" Aang shouts as the Pirate Barker draws his blade, making a distinctive sound. Aang turns to face him and draws his bison whistle in response but it seems to have no effect. The Pirate Barker seems unimpressed, who promptly gets round-kicked overboard by Sokka who just enters.  
"Have you lost your mind!? This is no time for flute practice!" Sokka warns him tapping the side of his head. Katara and Aang look over the starboard railing at the rapidly approaching waterfall and the prow almost at the tip of the fall.  
"We can stop the boat! Aang, together, push and pull the water!" Katara shouts at the aspect of the fall. They go to the foredeck waterbending in unison, making pushing and pulling motions, which is now just turning around right at the tip of the fall. "It's working! It's slowing down!" She shouts as they bend, then the ship is now at a 90-degree angle to the tip of the fall motionless. "We're doing it!" She cheers.  
"But we have another problem!" Sokka announces pointing to the cutter behind them. The cutter bears down on the pirate ship as it hovers over the lip of the waterfall, the cutter rams the pirate ship amidship making the teens yell out at the impact. This made the ship lift the starboard side of the pirate ship out of the water and, consequently, making the ship list badly to port, the list rapidly becomes so bad that the three teens fall off the ship and over the falls, the pirate ship falls behind them.

The three teens fall down get swooped up by Appa and land on his back, he leaves just in time to avoid the falling pirate ship. The pirate ship disintegrates when it hits the bottom of the waterfall in a cloud of water and debris, Appa and the teens swoop out of the place. Momo lands onto Sokka's shoulder as they fly off into the sky to their next destination.

* * *

Back on land Zuko and Rin run up to the river bank near the waterfall, Iroh runs along with them huffing and puffing behind them. "My boat!" Zuko yells out looking at it.  
"Hehe, Prince Zuko, General Rin, you're really going to get a kick out of this. The missing lotus tile was in my sleeve the whole time!" Iroh laughs nervously producing the missing lotus tile with a huge smile on his face. He holds out the piece, Zuko tries to control his breathing and temper while Rin stands next to him looking almost completely calm. Iroh still holds out the piece to them, which disappears fast as lightning when Zuko in his anger snatches it from his Uncle. Zuko throws it as far as he can as the pirates float downstream, the piece lands on the Pirate Barker's head.  
"Now, we're gonna have to get another one." Rin groans and the news hits Zuko, he looks at her then slumps his shoulders in defeat.

* * *

It was nighttime by the time they all made it back onto the main ship with all their arms full of different things. "I thought we'd never make it back." Rin groans dropping everything in her arms before Zuko comes up behind her. "It was your fault, we could have made it back sooner if you hadn't had your temper tantrum and threw the tile away." She snaps at the prince who looks guilty and she walks away down below.

* * *

Rin enters her room, it was a small room the walls and floor made of metal but her bed, desk and shelves were covered in the colour purple, it was a testament to her mother. Whenever she walked inside she saw her old home before her father took everything purple out of their home it just hurt too much for them both. Just over time, Rin saw the colour over and over again, she kept thinking of all the times she had in her loving home with her parents and the training with her father to help control her firebending and the baking with her mother to grow closer. Rin missed her parents so much, she wished to see them again but looks at her desk at the family portrait of the small three people family. The faint sound of a knock at the door, breaks her out of her thoughts, she opens it to see Zuko and her first thought was that he never came to her room. "Can I help you Prince Zuko?" She asks him tired after today's events.  
"I was asked by Uncle to see if you were feeling well." Zuko half lied, his uncle had commented on her well being but he came down without being asked.  
"I'm feeling tired after today that's all, I will see you in the morning, Zuko." She tells him.  
"Of course, I am sorry about losing my temper earlier." He apologies to her feeling terrible for keeping her out so late because he had lost his temper with his Uncle over him misplacing the tile.  
"It's fine, I understand completely but we will find the Avatar one day Zuko." She promises him, she looks at him and thinks of the day he got banished by his father. "Goodnight."  
"Thank you Rin, for helping me and I'll see you in the morning." He replies and she finally closes the door, he smiles slightly as she was always trying to find the Avatar but it never felt like she did it for herself but for him only.


	10. The Storm of Our Spirits

_"Water... Earth... Fire... Air..." Katara voices over as the benders demonstrate as she talks. "My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of peace when the Avatar kept the balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked." It journeys into the map showing the world and closes in on a bender displaying all the elements. "Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless firebenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished." He disappears from sight. "A hundred years have passed and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe." It shows the Water Tribe men on their boats and Katara hugging her older brother Sokka holding up a lantern. "Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle is broken, but I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow the Avatar will return to save the world."_

 **The Storm of Our Spirits**

A flock of birds fly over the Fire Navy ship as it steams forward, on the main deck Iroh sniffs the air and Zuko looks out of a telescope in the background, the sound of blades clashing can be heard when suddenly Rin jumps back knocking into Zuko, he snaps his head around about to yell at her but stops himself. "There is a storm coming. A big one." Iroh announces to them.  
"You're out of your mind, Uncle. The weather's perfect. There is not a cloud in sight." Zuko argues with him as he lowers the telescope.  
"The storm is approaching from the north. I suggest we alter our course and head southwest." Iroh advises them.  
"We know the Avatar is travelling northward, so we will do the same," Zuko tells him a matter a fact at this Rin jumps back into her fight as she was off duty for the day but didn't stay in her room as she was feeling bored, just staring at those four metal walls.  
"Prince Zuko, consider the safety of the crew," Iroh warns his nephew looking at the deck with the crew.  
"The safety of the crew doesn't matter!" Zuko exclaims at his Uncle and his eyebrow goes up in concern as a crewmember enters his view. The Lieutenant, who clearly overheard the remark and was very unhappy. He realises this, and begins to speak to the Lieutenant and walks up to him. "Finding the Avatar is far more important than any individual's safety." He remarks and enters the ship shutting the hatch behind him. Iroh stands next to the offended Lieutenant.  
"He doesn't mean that he's just all worked up." Iroh tries to correct what his nephew had said.

On the ocean, the ship sails through the rocky wave as a black edge of an ominous storm approaches straight towards them. Zuko walks onto the deck, four crewmen, including the Lieutenant from earlier that day, are there looking at the storm clouds. The Lieutenant turns, folding his arms across his chest, to address Zuko. "Uh! Looks like your uncle was right about the storm after all." Lieutenant Jee addresses him crossly.  
"Lucky guess." Iroh brushes it off as he enters.  
"Lieutenant, you'd better learn some respect," Zuko warns him, pointing at his chest with two fingers. "Or I will teach it to you." He adds, he knew that if he had said this in front of Rin she'd have started to shout at him. He walks past the Lieutenant, who no longer contains his contempt towards the Prince.  
"What do you know about respect? The way you talk to everyone around here, from your hard-working crew to your esteemed uncle and even General Rin shows you know nothing about respect. You don't care about anyone but yourself! Then again, what should I expect from a spoiled Prince?" Lieutenant Jee argues his points. As the Lieutenant speaks, Iroh makes a decapitation motion with his hand, trying to head off the conflict. Zuko stops mid-step shortly into Lieutenant Jee's speech. Iroh sighs putting his hand over his face, resigning himself to the brewing disaster. By the end of the tirade, Zuko's eyebrow is twitching, clearly stung by the accusations. He turns around and assumes a firebending stance, the Lieutenant follows suit.  
"Easy now." Iroh tries calming them down hands up in a calming gesture. Zuko and the Lieutenant's hands crossing at the wrists, indicating that the ritual of combat had begun. When they cross, the sound of steel on steel can be heard and smoke curls from where they meet. Iroh appears in between them breaking their wrists apart in a neat movement. "Enough! We are all a bit tired from being at sea so long. I'm sure after a bowl of noodles everyone will feel much better." He adds. Zuko and Jee glare at each other a moment longer, then both turn around and walk away in the opposite directions.  
"I don't need your help keeping order on my ship," Zuko tells Iroh.  
"Actually it's my ship." Rin makes her presence known, they turn to see her leaning in the doorway. "Jee came past me moaning about you by the way, so wanna tell me what's going on?" She asks Zuko as Iroh places his hand on Zuko's shoulder, but he just rudely shoves him off. Zuko walks to the bow, where the storm clouds now fill the sky. Rin joins next to him and nudges him slightly knocking him over almost. "Jee has always been like that, he doesn't think first. But from what I can tell maybe what you said wasn't right..." She says softly.  
"Excuse me!" Zuko exclaims at her before she could finish.  
"Hang on let me finish. Jeez, I was there that day with your father." She tells him, looking at him as he touches his scar. "I know how much you want to go home but I think you should look at the crew the same way, they want to go home as much as you do Zuko. I don't agree with what Jee said, though I have to say you do come across as spoiled." She laughs as Zuko frowns at her before smiling at her laugh.

The ship navigates through the storm, inside the ship Lieutenant Jee lowers a cup he takes a drink from. His face bathed in firelight somewhere inside the ship. "I'm sick of taking his orders and I'm tired of chasing his Avatar!" Jee snaps as he sits at the table, addressing one of the crewmen, making wide hand gestures to drive in his point. "I mean who does Zuko think he is? At least Rin looks out for us." He adds on.  
"Do you really want to know?" Iroh asks him, the crewman sitting around a fire barrel from the top of the stairs from the upper deck. Jee and the three other crewmen at the fire barrel stand up in respect.  
"General Iroh! We were just-" Jee tries covering his outburst.  
"It's ok. May I join you?" Iroh asks them dismissing enters, with a hand raised in acceptance.  
"Of course, sir!" Jee tells him, Iroh approaches and sits down with the other men. He strokes his beard and begins to tell them.  
"Try to understand, my nephew is a complicated young man. He has been through much..." Iroh tells them.

 _A younger Zuko, without his scar. His look of determination, however, has not changed as he walks down a hall to a pair of Fire Nation guards who block his attempt to enter the room beyond the doors. "Let me in!" Zuko orders his voice slightly higher in pitch when Iroh appears from his left, putting his hands on the young man's shoulder.  
"Prince Zuko, what's wrong?" Iroh asks his impatient nephew._  
 _"I want to go into the war chamber, but the guards won't let me pass!" Zuko complains and his voice breaks slightly at the end. He is clearly disappointed as Iroh leads him a short distance away from the guards._  
 _"You're not missing anything, trust me. These meetings are dreadfully boring." Iroh promises him._  
 _"If I'm gonna rule this nation one day, don't you think I need to start learning as much as I can? Plus I saw a girl my age go in there." Zuko argues with reason.  
"Very well. But you must promise not to speak. These old folks and girl are a bit sensitive, you know." Iroh warns his young nephew._  
 _"Thank you, uncle!" Zuko thanks him bowing to him. Iroh puts him around Zuko's shoulders and walks past the guards, who make no move to stop them._

 _The War Chamber is a temple like a chamber, with a throne on a dais, wreathed in fire and the back wall is occupied by some sort of huge, ornately carved red statue. The war council is in session, filled with Fire Nation Generals (Rin is there) sitting around a map of the Earth Kingdom continent that adorns the floor. One of the Generals on the left of the room is standing to address the others. "The Earth Kingdom defences are concentrated here." The General informs the others as the Fire Lord sits on his throne watching the Generals discuss the situation. "A dangerous battalion of their strongest Earthbenders and fiercest warriors, so I am recommending the 41st division." He suggests to the room._  
 _"But the 41st is entirely new recruits. How do you expect them to defeat a powerful Earth Kingdom battalion?" An Older General questions him._  
 _"He doesn't. They'll be used as a distraction while he mounts an attack from the rear." Rin cuts in coldly looking at the General in disgust at the very thought._  
 _"What better to use as bait then fresh meat?" The General asks the room rhetorically.  
"You can't sacrifice an entire division like that! Those soldiers love and defend our nation! How can you betray them?" Zuko jumps up to defend those soldiers, the Generals all look back at Zuko, some clearly disapproving of Zuko's outburst._

Back in the present on the Fire Nation ship with Iroh continuing on with his story to the crewmen. "Zuko was right, you see, but it was not his place to speak out, and there were...dire consequences," Iroh tells them as he lowers his head in sadness at the memory. "After Zuko's outburst in the meeting, the Fire Lord became very angry with him. He said that Prince Zuko's challenge of the General was an act of complete disrespect, and there was only one way to resolve this."  
"Agni Kai. A fire duel." Jee continues in horror at the thought of a younger Zuko having to participate in the duel.  
"That's right. Zuko looks upon the old General he had insulted and declared that he was not afraid. But Zuko misunderstood. When he turned to face his opponent, he was surprised to see it was not the General. Zuko had spoken out against a General's plan, but by doing so in the Fire Lord's war room, it was the Fire Lord whom he had disrespected. Zuko would have to duel his own father." Iroh informs them and remembers what happened that day.

 _Zuko stood in a rectangular arena with a large crowd on either side and drops his ceremonial cloak to the floor, exposing his bare chest. He turns to face his opponent, and recognizes him to be his father, he freezes up in horror._

"When Prince Zuko saw that it was his father who had come to duel him, he begged for mercy..." He continues on with his story of what happened to his beloved nephew.

 _In the rectangular arena, a much larger opponent silhouetted advances slowly towards Zuko making the poor boy terrified. "Please, father, I only had the fire nation's best interest at heart! I'm sorry I spoke out of turn!" Zuko pleads with his father for mercy. The Fire Lord advances, still a silhouette against the fires burning around the arena. He too was_ shirtless _but built massively compared to others._  
 _"You will fight for your honour." Fire Lord Ozai orders him.  
"I meant you no disrespect. I am your loyal son." Zuko pleads, stricken as he tries to humble himself towards his father on the floor.  
"Rise and fight, Prince Zuko!" Fire Lord Ozai orders him sharply._  
 _"I won't fight you." Zuko stands his ground against his father still in a pleading tone._  
 _"You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher." Fire Lord Ozai warns his son and stands a few feet from Zuko, as he raises his tear-filled_ _face to his father. Faces in the crowd are familiar, many are Generals from the war council, a grinning Admiral Zhao, Rin standing at the far back of the crowd glaring at Fire Lord, Iroh looking fearful for his nephew, and Azula looking cruelly who hopes for the worst to befall Zuko. Azula raises her left fist in anticipation of the disgrace her brother is undergoing and Iroh looks away in despair._  
"I looked away," Iroh tells them honestly.

 _The crowd are illuminated by the flame, with the following of Zuko's scream of anguish can be heard all across the room._

"I always thought that Prince Zuko was in a training accident..." Jee says embarrassed of what he had said before.  
"It was no accident. After the duel, the Fire Lord said that by refusing to fight, Zuko had shown shameful weakness. As punishment, he was banished and sent to capture the Avatar. Only then could he return with his honour." Iroh finishes off the story.  
"So that's why he's so obsessed. Capturing the Avatar is the only chance he has of things returning to normal. That must have been why General Rin was so upset the day before we left" Jee says in understanding, the last part the crewmen all nod at the memory of when Rin had walked onto the ship at the beginning of their journey to find the Avatar.  
"Things will never return to normal. But the important thing is, the Avatar gives Zuko hope. And Rin understands that." Iroh says remembering the day too well.

Zuko is sat in front of a flame on an altar, it was dark inside the room as he is silhouetted by the light. He thinks about the past, a memory of two young children running across a hillside, their father follows behind them. The children looked happy. Zuko remembered when he was a young boy, standing on the same Hillcrest with his father next to him. His father's hand on his shoulder. He breaks out of his thoughts at the sound of a lightning strike. The storm begins hitting the ship with lightning striking the bridge.

The ship battles through the waves, Zuko and Lieutenant Jee struggle to stay upright on the ship's main deck, water drenches them both and the deck repeatedly. "Where were we hit?" Zuko asks Jee over the noise.  
"I don't know! General Rin is looking into it!" Jee answers back over the noise.  
"Look!" Iroh yells out as he points to the bridge tower with a crewman hanging off some of the riggings.  
"The helmsman!" Zuko exclaims in shock, he climbs the external ladder up to the bridge area, Jee following behind him. On the deck, Iroh senses something coming and lightning strike flares, but Iroh bends the lighting through his body, away from the men trying to rescue the helmsman and forces it to strike open water. Iroh smoking and looking confused, but otherwise undamaged as the helmsman finally let's go with a cry. He falls, but luckily a hand grabs him, Zuko and Jee work together to save him. Rin runs over next to Iroh to look up at the two smiling glad that they had worked together to save one of the crew.

Appa flies in the clouds and the people on the ship below can clearly see Appa flying above them. "The Avatar!" Zuko shouts.  
"What do you want to do, sir?" Jee asks him fully cooperative even with Rin still not on duty. Zuko looks at him pausing to consider their options and looks to Rin who nods her head knowing she will make the right decision.  
"Let him go. We need to get this ship to safety." Zuko answers them, making Rin and Iroh smile at him proud of his actions.  
"Then we must head directly into the eye of the storm," Rin tells them, they all look at her.  
"You're not on duty until tomorrow." Jee teases her as Zuko and the crew look out over the bow.

Zuko and the crew are on the deck of the ship has reached the eye of the storm, which they can see above them and the wind has died down but it is drizzling. "Uncle, I am sorry." Zuko apologies to him sincerely.  
"Your apology is accepted," Iroh tells him smiling, putting a hand on his nephew's shoulder. Suddenly, a bubble of energy erupts from the sea in a boiling blue mass in front of the prow of the ship and rockets into the air. Zuko looks up from the deck looking up at Aang as he looks down as he retreats up into the eye of the storm. Rin soaking wet gets her hair and smacks Zuko in the face with her hair, he seems almost shocked at first then goes grumpy.  
"Rin, that's gross," Zuko complains but all she does is laugh at him. Jee looks at them and smiles thinking about what Iroh had told him about that day but maybe Rin could help lighten the Prince's shoulders of all that weight.

A few days later, red hawk-like bird, flies through the moonless night sky and cries out over a Fire Nation fortress on the upper reaches of the fortress. There are several towers connected by the walls of the fortress that are all manned and have fires burning inside. On the left of the fortress are Fire Nation ships in the water beyond. Several fierce looking archers, their faces painted for both decoration and camouflage, release volley after volley of arrows that strike their targets dead in their centre. The successive arrows split the one already occupying the bull's eye right down the middle of its shaft. In one of the fortress towers where Colonel Shinu and Commander Zhao stand side by side watching the archers. "Absolutely not. The Yu Yan archers stay here. Your request is denied, Commander Zhao. I will not go against General Jou's daughter, he was a dear friend of mine." Colonel Shinu denies Zhao's request.  
"Colonel Shinu, please reconsider. Their precision is legendary. The Yu Yan can pin a fly to a tree from a hundred yards away – without killing it. You're wasting their talents using them as mere security guards." Commander Zhao tries to get him to reconsider.  
"I can do whatever I want with their talents. They're my archers and what I say goes." Shinu argues not wanting to go against Jou he was a long time friend before he died.  
"But my search for the Avatar is –" Zhao tries arguing back.  
"– Is nothing but a vanity project! We're fighting a real war here and I need every man I've got, Commander." Shinu interrupts his almost rant about why he needed his archers.  
"But -" Zhao tries again but it doesn't work.  
"That's final! I don't want to hear another word about it." Shinu orders him but all Zhao can do is grumble to himself, then the red hawk-like bird swoops down into the tower. The bird lands on Colonel Shinu's outstretched arm and unties a message from its back then it flies away. Colonel Shinu shows Zhao behind him as Shinu's expression turns to one of horror as he reads the message. Zhao approaches from behind him and Shinu hands over the message to him.  
"News from Fire Lord Ozai?" Zhao asks and reads over the message as a smile grows on his face. "It appears I've been promoted to Admiral. My request is now an order." He announces and Shinu bows to him and exits the room. The archers fire their arrows again at their targets as Zhao looks over the railing of the tower at the archers below. Atop the tower two masked figures, one blue one and a purple one listen before leaving quietly.

The Fire Nation ship steams through the water with land visible behind it as Zuko stands over Jee's shoulder as they both look at something. "We haven't been able to pick up the Avatar's trail since the storm," Jee informs him as they look at the map of the world. Jee's hand positions and he extends his index finger indicating that they are currently at the northwest extremity of the Earth Kingdom, close to the easternmost extremity of the northern air nomad lands. "But, if we continue heading northeast –" He tries saying when the light is blocked by an enormous shadow. On the bridge where Iroh and a crewman play Pai Sho on the right while Rin is talking to the helmsman on the left. Another Fire Navy ship, a massive hulking one, passes them to starboard, heading in the opposite direction, everyone on the bridge stares at it.

"What do they want?" Zuko asks in general.  
"Perhaps a sporting game of Pai Sho!" Iroh replies with hope in his voice but he knew that wouldn't be the case.  
"It's not good that's all I can say." Rin points out to them as the ship rests alongside the much larger, double-smoke stack Fire Nation vessel. A Herald unrolls the scroll to reveal a drawn figure of Aang and some writing in Asian calligraphy, showing it to them but Zuko who looks very sour.  
"The hunt for the Avatar has been given prime importance," Herald announces and lowers the scroll. "All information regarding the Avatar must be reported directly to Admiral Zhao. I'm afraid even you General Rin cannot stop this." He informs them.  
"Zhao has been promoted? Well, good for him!" Iroh cheers making a move on his Pai Sho board and his opponent looks distressed at the move and slaps his face.  
"I've got nothing to report to Zhao. Now get off my ship and let us pass." Rin half lies to Herald and narrows her eyes at him.  
"Admiral Zhao is not allowing ships in or out of this area," Herald informs her cowering almost at her eyes that looked as if a fire were inside them.  
"Off our ship!" Zuko snaps at him angrily and Herald and his two guards behind him leave as Iroh smiles.  
"Excellent!" Iroh cheers leaning forward and gathers all the chips on the table. "Ake the pot. But, you're all improving. I'm certain you will win if we play again." He tells his opponent. Zuko looks over the waves as Iroh and the men begin another game in the background behind him and Rin walks over to him, they silently stare out into the water.

The ship steams by the shore, the sunset in its last stages in the background as Zuko practices his firebending with Rin on the foredeck and Iroh watches them. "Is everything okay? It's been almost an hour and you haven't given the men an order." Iroh asks Rin as she punches towards Zuko and a burst of fire blasts towards him.  
"I don't care what they do," Rin replies looking away out to sea till Zuko kicks out to her, she ducks under kicking out his legs from under him.  
"Don't give up hope yet. You both can still find the Avatar before Zhao." Iroh promises them, though it felt more like an empty one at this point. Zuko and Rin stop then he turns to face his Uncle with a look of desperation and fear on his face.  
"How, Uncle? With Zhao's resources that Rin has been denied, it's just a matter of time before he captures the Avatar." Zuko tells him turning around to look out to sea. "My honour, my throne, my country, I'm about to lose them all." He whispers to himself and Rin puts her hand on his shoulder in slight comfort.

Inside a large room, Aang is hung up his arms stretched out and his face downcast, the room is dark, but there is a fire in the room that sheds some illumination. Aang his shackled between two stone pillars that have flames on their crests, by his arms. Outside the prisoner, room stand guards where he's inside a fortress being held and it looks impregnable with rank upon rank of walls, gates and towers. Back inside the prison chamber, where Aang struggles against his bonds when the door opens and he looks up to the doorway. Admiral Zhao walks into the room towards Aang, hands behind his back to show off his authority over the young boy. "So this is the great Avatar? Master of the elements. I don't know how you've managed to elude the Fire Nation for a hundred years, but your little game of hide and seek is over." Zhao tells Aang smug at the fact he had captured him.  
"I've never hidden from you. Untie me and I'll fight you right now!" Aang argues trying to get back to his friends.  
"Uhh, no. Tell me, how does it feel to be the only Airbender left?" Zhao asks him trying to dig at them as he puts his face up to Aang's. "Do you miss your people?" Aang's face with a look of defiance melts and drops his head. "Oh, don't worry, you won't be killed like they were." Aang looks up again in anger. "See, if you die you'll just be reborn and the Fire Nation will have to begin its search for the Avatar all over again. So, I'll keep you alive - but just barely." He threatens him slightly and turns to leave, still smirking. Aang blows a gale force wind, knocking Zhao until into the wall where he collapses in a heap. He shakes his head to clear his vision and stands back up. "Blow all the wind you want! Your situation is futile. There is no escaping this fortress - and no one is coming to rescue you." He says before exiting the room, slamming the door behind him.

Outside the fortress, it's night, where figures in a blue and purple mask appear on the road leading to the fortress where a wagon makes its way towards the gate. The undercarriage of the wagon passes them and the Blue and Purple Spirit hold onto the underside of the wagon as it reaches the gate. "All clear." The Guard announces and the gate guard looks at the wagon and walks around it. When the guard checks the undercarriage, the Blue and Purple Spirit are gone. The guard gets back up from looking under the wagon. "All clear. Go on in." He tells the wagon driver. The Blue and Purple Spirit hid inside the wagon as it enters the first of the fortress' three gates. The massive central tower where Aang is being held prisoner and in the first courtyard where the wagon is being unloaded. The Blue and Purple Spirit run from them and duck into the shadows hidden from view.

On an ornate balcony with bonfire pots on either side, is festooned with gold and red spades, Admiral Zhao appears in ceremonial dress flanked by attendants. During his speech, the innermost courtyard full of Fire Nation soldiers standing to attention. "We are the sons and daughters of fire! The superior element! Until today, only one thing stood in our path to victory. The Avatar! I am here to tell you that he is now my prisoner!" With this said the soldier's cheer three times. "This is the year Sozin's comet returns to grant us its power!" This gets another cheer to be heard. "This is the year the Fire Nation breaks through the walls of Ba-Sing-Se and burns the city to the ground!" He exclaims as the Blue and Purple Spirit steadily and stealthily infiltrate the fortress.

Aang struggles still fruitlessly against the chains that hold him, he finally stops, breathing heavily, when suddenly, the frogs start to leap out of his shirt and hood. "What? No! Don't leave frogs! My friends are sick and they need you! Please go back to being frozen!" He pleads them with as if they could understand what he was saying to them. He begins to struggle again against the chains as the frogs hop away from him towards the door.

The four guards standing outside the prison chamber look confused when they hear frog noises coming from inside. They look down at their feet to see a few frogs coming from underneath the door, suddenly, they look up as a Fire Nation soldier's helmet comes bouncing down the corridor towards them. One of the guards walks up the corridor and turns right at the first junction, he disappears from view. A gout of flame erupts from the cross hallway as well as the sound of a brief scuffle as if in a fight. Two more guards go up to the junction following the other and turn right, they take precaution and go into a firebending stance. Looking down the cross hallway, the first guard who went down hangs from the ceiling all tied up. The Blue and Purple Spirit are on the ceiling above the two new combatants, they drop down onto the floor and begin to fight one on one with the guards, but it quickly ends. The last guard stands where he can now see the Blue and Purple Spirit at the junction, the last guard grabs the alarm horn next to him, but a knife gets thrown knocking it out of his hand. The guard lets loose a gout of flame at the Blue and Purple Spirit as he runs down the hall towards the door, but one of the intruders extinguishes the blast with a bucket of water. The Purple masked figure then sweeps the guard's feet out from under him with the empty bucket and looks to the Blue masked figure, they share a look before nodding to one another.

Inside the Prison Chamber Aang still, struggles against the chains holding him, he then stops and looks at the noises of violence coming from the other side of the door. These stop abruptly and replaced by the sound of the lock turning in the door when suddenly the door opens to the Blue and Purple Spirit entering the chamber. The Blue masked figure wields two curved swords as the Purple masked figure wields a bo-staff and they run towards Aang, who screams in fear having no clue what was happening or why they were there.

In the prison chamber, Aang still screaming as the Blue and Purple Spirit approaches him, with two swords and a bo-staff, the Blue Spirit cuts the chains that hold Aang freeing him from his bonds. Aang pulls his arms back in surprise looking at his liberators in a wonder of why they would help him, The Purple Spirit turns her back as if looking out as the Blue Spirit continues to cut Aang's remaining bonds before turning and walking back towards the door. "Who are you? What's going on? Are you here to rescue me?" Aang asks them as the Purple Spirit opens the door motioning for them to follow. "I'll take that as a 'yes'." Aang still follows them out past the gagged and tied up guard at the door of his prison chamber and hears more frog noises and turns to see his frogs on the floor. "My frogs! Come back! And stop thawing out!" Aang yells and the Blue Spirit comes back picking the Avatar up by his collar and carries him out. "Wait! My friends need to suck on those frogs!" He keeps yells out as they make their way.

Aang, the Blue and Purple Spirit walk silently in the sewer system underneath the fortress as soldiers walk back and forth above them. They hop out of a gate into one of the courtyards.

Zhao walks in one of the many torch-lit corridors of the fortress, followed by a scriber as they walk. "I want a full transcription of my speech sent to the Fire Lord, along with glowing testimonials from all of the ranking officers present, and -" Zhao orders him but stops as he hears a moaning sound. To Zhao's right, where the soldiers that the Blue and Purple Spirit tied still lie. Zhao seeming upset lams open the door to Aang's prison chamber, to see that it is empty, except for a frog on the floor. Zhao turns around in anger at what he sees and leaves the chamber, the scribe following in tow.  
"Sir, should I hold off sending that speech to the Fire Lord?" Scribe asks him hesitantly.

The three would-be escapees who are now scaling a rope on the innermost wall of the fortress, they soon get spotted by a guard. "There, on the wall!" The Guard shouts a warning, a soldier appears at the top of the wall they were climbing. The Guard at the top of the wall cuts the rope and the trio fall down the wall, but only Aang screams as they fall. Aang airbends them just in time for a soft landing when the dust clears, the Blue Spirit unsheathes his swords and the Purple Spirit gets into a fighting stance with her bo-staff and they run. At this time Zhao stands on the ornate balcony again overseeing all of this.  
"The Avatar has escaped! Close all the gates immediately!" Zhao shouts out from the balcony. As the trio run to escape, Aang passes the Spirits.  
"Stay close to me!" Aang tells them as the third gate closes in front of them, as the two other gates beyond it, and it gets blocked by many soldiers. Aang airbends a blast of air that blows them out of the way, Aang makes it to the gate, but the Spirits get involved in a fight and have to stop. Aang turns to see his liberators in trouble and grabs a spear from one of the guards closeby, he airbends him out of the way, breaking the head off the spear and launches back into battle to save his new friends. The gate closes behind him as the Blue and Purple Spirit are surrounded, but Aang airbends them all out of the way. With a mighty effort, he catapults his liberators to the top of the third wall but he himself instantly get surrounded, but Aang appears using his staff as a helicopter blade.

He plucks the Blue Spirit off the wall who holds onto the Purple Spirit and head into the next courtyard. Aang struggles to keep them aloft, the Blue Spirit uses his swords to knock the spears sent up to them by the guards as the Purple Spirit uses her bo-staff deflecting attacks. They barely make it to the top of the next wall as they crash unceremoniously onto the battlement, Aang's staff goes spinning away as guards instantly rush them. Aang runs for his staff, but a guard stops him, taking several swings at Aang's with his sword. The Purple Spirit throws the guard over the wall side, Aang then airbends the other guards off the wall following the other. Aang and the Spirits knock off the soldiers as they reach the top, with two mighty blasts, Aang depopulated the two scaling ladders nearest him as the Blue Spirit knocks the one final soldier off his. Aang brings over two scaling ladders and steps onto the ladder his liberators that had just emptied and hands over the other ladder to the masked people. "Here, take this. Jump on my back!" Aang tells them and they comply as Aang begins to use the ladders as massive stilts, shedding one each time a step is taken.

The first ladder shed still has some Fire Nation soldiers on it, but it falls in the dust as in the second courtyard dawn is approaching. "Gimme the next one!" He yells out to the masked people and they comply. At the bottom of their stilt, a Fire Nation soldier sends a gout of flame up the ladder but it is too late though, but Aang and the Spirits jump from the last stilt and just manage to grab the edge of the final wall. They are unable to hold on, however, and fall to the ground, the Blue Spirit draws his swords and the Purple Spirit readies her bo-staff. Four firebenders unleash their flame on them, but Aang puts the masked people behind him and airbends the flames away.  
"Hold your fire! The Avatar must be captured alive!" Zhao orders his men and the Blue Spirit instantly comes behind Aang and crosses his swords in front of Aang's throat as the Purple Spirit swings her bo-staff at any approaching soldiers. The escapees accenting the standoff between them and Admiral Zhao. "Open the gate." Zhao orders through gritted teeth.  
"Admiral, what are you doing?" An officer questions him.  
"Let them out, now!" He orders him and the gate begins to open and the Spirits back out with their captives, swords still at his throat.  
"How could you let them go?" The Officer asks him.  
"A situation like this requires... precision." He tells the officer and the Spirits continue backing away from the fortress. Zhao now looks down on from the top of the main gate as an arrow gets strung on a bow by an unseen soldier. "Do you have a clear shot?" He asks the Yu Yan archer, but he doesn't respond but lowers his head in preparation for his shot. "Knock out the thieves. I'll deliver them to the Fire Lord along with the Avatar." He says and the archer releases his arrows, the arrows make their impact points on the Spirits masks. From the hit of their masks the collapse backwards hitting the ground behind them, Aang turns around in horror, his eyes glazed over. He soon recovers, turns around and airbends up a huge cloud of dust around him and the Spirits. "Quick! Recover the Avatar!" Zhao shouts in a slight panic as the main gate opens and a crowd of Fire Nation soldiers emerge from within, running towards the dust cloud.

Inside the dust cloud, where Aang removes the Blue and Purple Spirit's masks to reveal Prince Zuko and General Rin unconscious. Aang backs away in horror from the two unconscious Fire Nation teens, he falls backwards onto the ground. He jumps back up and runs away from them, but then turns to look at them, his eyes huge and full of compassion. He sees the Fire Nation soldiers get closer through the smoke, he hesitates still but when the dust clears there's nothing there. The crossroad where the Fire Nation teens had fallen is now empty nothing for them to find or capture. Admiral Zhao looks insanely angry when a frog hops onto the railing ribbits quickly and hops off.

Somewhere in a forest looking straight up into the canopy overhead, it's now morning, Aang sits on a nearby root as he looks unhappy as looking at Zuko and Rin who look to be a bit dazed still. "You know what the worst part about being born over a hundred years ago is? I miss all the friends I used to hang out with. Before the war started, I used to always see my friend Kuzon. The two of us, we'd get in and out of so much trouble together. He was one of the best friends I ever had - He turns to face both Zuko and Rin - and he was from the Fire Nation, just like you two. If we knew each other back then, do you think we could have been friends too?" He asks them as they lie on a bank of earth. Aang next to them, perched on a large tree root, after a pause, Zuko lets loose a huge gout of flame at him, but Aang dodges and flies away on a current of air. Zuko and Rin watch him hop away from tree branch to tree branch out of their sights.

They make their way to the cutter vessel so they can make it back into the mothership, Zuko walks past his Uncle sullen on the main deck as Iroh practices with the sumki horn he had bought not that long ago as Rin walks up behind Zuko. "Where have you both been, Prince Zuko, General Rin? You missed music night! Lieutenant Jee sang a stirring love song." Iroh tells them but they just walk away.  
"We're going to bed. No disturbances." Zuko replies as they walk leaving Iroh to rub his head in slight confusion but begins to blow his horn again.

Zuko awake in his own chamber seems lost in thought as he looks at the Fire Nation symbol hanging on his wall, then rolls over himself. He hears a soft knock on his door, he groans in frustration and yanks the door open to see Rin there looking as sullen as he does and he steps out the way for her to come inside and she steps inside the room and he closes the door behind her.


	11. Growing Feelings Bet

_"Water... Earth... Fire... Air…" Katara voices over as the benders demonstrate as she talks. "My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of peace when the Avatar kept the balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked." It journeys into the map showing the world and closes in on a bender displaying all the elements. "Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless firebenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished." He disappears from sight. "A hundred years have passed and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe." It shows the Water Tribe men on their boats and Katara hugging her older brother Sokka holding up a lantern. "Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle is broken, but I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow the Avatar will return to save the world."_

 **Growing Feelings Bet**

On the ship, Iroh drinks his tea with Zuko and Rin at a table in a cabin and Iroh pours Zuko some tea after he takes a sip of his tea then pours Rin hers. "Ahh! See, Prince Zuko, a moment of quiet is good for your mental well being." Iroh tells him as Zuko raises the cup to drink when a shock causes it to splash the tea all over his face. He wipes it away and gets up with Rin from the table, making angry noises.

* * *

On the foredeck, a young, dark-haired woman appears on deck riding a massive and hideous monster. Members of the crew scatter as the beast climbs the railing and onto the deck as Zuko and Rin come onto the deck. "Get back! We're after a stowaway." The young woman informs them of why she was aboard.

"There are no stowaways on my ship," Rin argues with her, as her men knew better than to allow this to happen. The beast, a Shirshu, proceeds to rip out a chunk of the deck plating and hurls it away. The beast sticks its head into the gaping hole smelling around for the stowaway's odour and follows after it as a nearby barrel falls over and a man crawls out, whimpering. The man crawls out onto the foredeck where the Shirshu quickly whips the back of the man's neck with its long tongue. The man falls down instantly onto the deck, conscious but paralyzed, with Iroh, Zuko and Rin looking on at the scene.

"He's paralyzed," Zuko states looking at his way to maybe catching the Avatar finally.

"Only temporarily. The toxins'll wear off in about an hour. But by then he'll be in jail and I'll have my money." The young woman tells them picking the stowaway up.

"But how did you find him on our ship?" Zuko inquiries.

"My Shirshu can smell a rat a continent away." The young woman praises and pets her beast as she gets back onto the saddle.

"Well, I'm impressed." Iroh admires her not at all ashamed then she cracks her whip and the Shirshu bolts off the ship down onto the dock. "Very impressed." He strokes his chin watching after them as Rin looks at Zuko with a smirk.

* * *

That night at a three-story building with many windows who can see that it's packed inside with people. In view of the front door is June's Shirshu and a few other patrons of the establishment can be seen. Suddenly someone gets thrown through the wall above the door, landing somewhere and cries out painfully upon impact.

* * *

Inside June is arm-wrestling a beefy man as there in the filled to capacity, tavern, the beefy man sweats in his attempt to best the bounty hunter with a curled red snake tattoo on her right shoulder. She doesn't even appear to be trying, when suddenly, Zuko appears, forcing his way through the crowd holding Rin's hand. "Out of my way! Step aside, filth!" Zuko pushes as one tries to get closer to Rin and Iroh follows behind them, addressing the people his nephew thrust aside.

"He means no offence! I'm sure you bathe regularly." Iroh tries smoothing things over as they make their way to the table June is arm-wrestling.

"I need to talk to you," Zuko orders her not at all politely.

"Well, if it isn't my new friends, Angry Boy, Bossy Girl and Uncle Lazy." June addresses them as the beefy man continues to grunt and struggles against her grip. Iroh laughs heartily for the moment before June ends the contest with one swift movement and the crowd erupts with a lot of money changing hands, much of it ending in a big pile in front of June.

"Your beast trashed my ship. You have to pay me back." Rin warns her smiling sweetly.

"Aww, I'd love to help you out, but I'm a little short on money." June lies as she ranks in the pile of coins. "Drinks on me!" She yells to the crowd and they cheer having lost money.

"Money isn't what I had in mind," Rin tells her as she grabs her hand as June raises her cup to her lips and she could feel the strength behind her grip was enough to shatter her bones. June looks up to look at the teens face to see her smiling sweetly but it never reached her eyes, they were so full of something June had never seen before, something dangerous.

* * *

They go outside the tavern front door with lamps illuminating the night when moths fly around the lamps. Zuko, Rin, Iroh and June stand around as the teen Prince holds out Katara's necklace he still had in his pocket.

"I need you to find someone," Zuko tells the bounty hunter.

"What happened? Your girlfriend run off on you?" June teases him but shrinks back when she sees the glare Rin gives her.

"It's not the girl I'm after, it's the bald monk she's travelling with." He corrects her not seeing the glare Rin is giving the bounty hunter.

"Whatever you say." June plays it off.

"If you find them, I'll consider the damage to my ship paid for," Rin tells her smiling at her.

"Heh! Forget it." June laughs and turns around beginning to climb onto her saddle.

"Plus we'll pay your weight in gold." Iroh tries negotiating with her, this gets her to smile and get back down before walking over to Iroh.

"Make it your weight and we got a deal." June renegotiates.

"You got it!" Iroh accepts laughing but feels a burning sensation on his back from the glare he was receiving from Rin.

"Get on," June tells them and grabs the necklace from Zuko. She walks over to the Shirshu letting it smell the necklace and it scans the area to find Katara's trail. Shirshu slobbers at the mouth as June jumps onto the saddle in front of Rin, Zuko and Iroh, then they take off on the trail to find the Avatar.

* * *

At the base of the hill in the old, decrepit town square, the Herbalist crouches down near the ground harvesting some planets. Near her, her cat Miyuki tenses up and hisses at the sound of the Shirshu approaching them. The Herbalist rises up and the old woman looks at the four atop the Shirshu. "Out for a bit of fresh air, are we?" The Herbalist asks them unafraid.

"We're looking for someone," Zuko answers her.

"I hope it's not Miyuki." The Herbalist jests, looking down at her cat. "Miyuki, did you get in trouble with the Fire Nation again?" She asks her cat but it just meows and backs away.

"The Avatar's been through here. Let's keep moving." June tells them and cracks her whip again then the Shirshu takes off.

* * *

In a village, the Shirshu and its riders enter as the Shirshu sniffs around the place before stopping. "Why are we stopping" Zuko questions June.

"Because the girl must have spent a lot of time here," June answers him.

"We have no time for this!" Zuko tells her grabbing the necklace from June. Zuko gets down from the Shirshu and helps Rin down before showing the Shirshu the necklace again. He narrowly avoids getting zapped by its tongue and moves Rin out of the way. "Hey, watch it." He warns it but all that gets is Iroh and Rin to laugh at him.

"Oh look, he like you." June leases him when Aunt Wu looks up at Iroh.

"Care to hear your fortune, handsome?" Aunt Wu asks him.

"At my age, there is only one big surprise left, and I'd just as soon leave it a mystery," Iroh tells her smiling. June whips the Shirshu, who takes off once again as Aunt Wu watches them leave.

"What a powerful aura that young girl has." Aunt Wu says softly to herself.

* * *

In the Abbey as a group of sisters make perfume, the approach of the Shirshu can be heard before it bursts through the gate, revealing the Shirshu and its riders. "We're getting close," June tells them. June whips the Shirshu again and it bounds out of the gate, up the road where Katara, Sokka and Bato used.

* * *

On the beach near Bato's boat are Appa, Aang and Momo. "Looks like we're going alone, guys." Aang sulks to the others before the Superior rushes up to him.

"Avatar! You must leave!" Superior warns him.

"Okay, I get it. Everyone wants me gone." Aang sulks some more.

"A group of people came to the Abbey looking for you," Superior informs him in a slight panic.

"Who?" Aang asks her in alarm.

"A fierce looking woman with a horrible monster, a young man with a scar and a young woman with blond hair," Superior tells him.

"Zuko and Rin!" Aang exclaims.

"The beast was using the scent of a necklace to follow you," Superior warns him.

"A necklace?" He asks then he realises and his eyes widen. "Huh! Katara!" He yells out in fear for her and the others.

* * *

On the road were Sokka and Katara walk down when Sokka motions for his sister to stop walking as a galloping sound can be heard from somewhere. The Shirshu jumps behind them scaring them and they run away with the Shirshu and its riders in pursuit. The Shirshu focuses on Katara and sees her completely coloured in purple to signal her own scent. "So this is your ex-girlfriend." June teases as Zuko hops down with Rin and approaches katara. "No wonder you left her. Rin's way more pretty than her." June comments getting the two teens blushing and look away from one another but stop to focus on finding Aang.

"Where is he? Where's the Avatar?" Zuko questions her.

"We split up! He's long gone." Sokka spits out defiantly.

"How stupid do you think I am?" Zuko asks him looking him in the eyes.

"Pretty stupid," Sokka answers grabbing Katara by the arm. "Run!" He yells and they run off, but the Shirshu paralyzes them both with its tongue before they get very far.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Rin asks the bounty hunter.

"It's seeking a different scent - perhaps something that the Avatar held," June answers her as the Shirshu moves forward and starts sniffing the paralyzed pair. The map scroll falls out of Sokka's backpack rolling onto the ground and it trails the lead back into the woods.

* * *

In the courtyard of the Abbey as they hastily repair the broken gate it gets blown open again as the beast and its riders bust through again, sending the sisters running away screaming in all directions as Shirshu begins walking around, sniffing. "What's it doing? It's just going around in a circle." Zuko snaps at June, then Shirshu looks up into the air to see a scent spiralling around. Suddenly Aang enters the Abbey courtyard on his glider and flies up to the monster, which jumps up to snap at him. Shirshu misses Aang but does manage to dump his riders onto the floor of the courtyard ground and also falls flat on his back.

"Aang!" Shouts Katara as June gets up whipping the ground and the Shirshu gets back up before roaring, June jumps onto its back. They charge after Aang as the pair bear down on him, right before impact, Appa gets in the way and ploughs right into the Shirshu, pushing him and June out. They plough into the wall of the Abbey, knocking a hole through it and Appa has a fiery grin on his face breaking heavily out of his nostrils.

Aang's smile soon turns to alarm as he turns away from Appa to face Zuko, whose hands are alight with fire as he advances on the young Avatar. Zuko fires a huge gout of flame at Aang, who blocks the flame by twirling his staff to break it up and they trade several rounds of blows, all of which miss or get blocked by one another. Finally, the two fire volley simultaneously and both are blown back onto the roofs behind them.

June is next to the Shirshu, both unconscious and Iroh rushes up to the bounty hunter patting the side of her face. She wakes up, rising to her feet, cracking her whip and says something unintelligible, then Shirshu rises to its feet, she jumps into the saddle and they head back into the battle. They charge at Appa who is on the other side of the courtyard, he soars into the air as they reach him, but the Shirshu lashes Appa's tail with his tongue. Appa lands on the other side of the courtyard struggling to stay standing, but fails and collapses in a cloud of dust, soon gets to his feet. The monsters charge at one another after June whips the Shirshu again, and they have a head-on collision, throwing June over Appa's head, whom she whips as she passes over him. She lands on the ground rolling away just as Appa's foot plants itself deep into the ground where she had just been.

Aang gets up groggily from where he'd fallen on the roof, his eyes go wide as Zuko charges him down the spine of the room. He throws a blast of the fire at the Avatar, who flips over Zuko's head to land behind him as they exchange blows with Aang eventually knocking Zuko off of the roof. He is instantly replaced, however, when June and the Shirshu jump onto the roof and pursue him by Rin's orders as she checks on the Prince. In the background, Appa turns down in the courtyard using his tail to create a gale that blows tiles off the roof as the Shirshu passes.

Katara and Sokka lean up against the wall of the Abbey as Sokka wiggles his arm a bit as the toxin begins to wear off. "I'm starting to get some feeling back!" Sokka cheers as a bunch of titles fall on them. "Ow!" He yells in pain as Aang is being pursued by June and Shirshu still as Iroh tests out the perfumes nearby. He finds one he seems to like, looks from side to side to make sure no one is looking the tucks the bottle into his robe, with a mischievous smile on his face.

Aang and Zuko duel once again, this time a covered well between them, they trade volleys and Aang suddenly sees Katara's necklace in Zuko's hand. "You've got something I want," Aang tells the Prince and they trade volleys again with Zuko soon destroying the wells covering. They dance around on the lip of the wall, neither one able to gain decisive advantages over the other. Aang keeps trying to grab the necklace but fails each time, then Zuko lunges after Aang and misses. As he passes, Aang uses his foot through the loop of the necklace, catching it, he then disappears down the well with Zuko firing a huge gout of flame after him in frustration. Zuko launches into the air as Aang reappears atop a huge jet of water landing in the foreground with rain from the huge jet of water begins to fall around him, quickly followed by Zuko hitting the ground.

Zuko gets up from the ground and the duel begins anew, this time Appa advances threateningly on Zuko, before Appa can strike him, however, the Shirshu lashes him three times in a row with his tongue. Appa tries to stay up as much as possible, but can't and kneels over, paralyzed.

The Superior puts some kind of perfume under Sokka and Katara's noses and they are then able to move much better. "That thing sees with its nose. Let's give him something to look at." Sokka tells them.

"The perfume?" Superior asks him and he nods. A pair of sister and Sokka move huge white pots of perfume out into the courtyard as Aang dodges Zuko's fire blasts and the Shirshu's tongue on the opposite wall. The sisters than about to drop the perfume but two hands stop them, they look shocked at the strength to see Rin standing there smirking at them. Katara is about to Waterbend when a gout of fire blasts her way, she ducks out of the way just in time seeing Rin with her foot out towards her but gets thrown down as Sokka tackles her to the ground. She gets up facing Sokka as the sister dump the perfume onto the ground as Katara waterbends the perfume into a huge sheet, moves it over the Shirshu and drops it. The monster shakes off the liquid, but it's revealed it is now terribly confused. Shirshu lashes its tongue out at Zuko, followed by Rin as she is about to advance on Sokka, who lands on top of Zuko and June.

"June! Noooo!" Iroh cries out as he catches the falling bounty hunter. The Shirshu rampages on breaking open a few more jars, pawing the titles of the roof of one of the buildings, the jumps over the wall and disappears. Aang picks up his staff, as Katara and Sokka approach him from behind while Zuko and Iroh lay flat on the ground with June draped across Iroh's chest and Rin over Zuko's but Iroh has his arm around June as Zuko and Rin see the position they are in can't help the blush they share.

"Uncle? I didn't see you get hit with the tongue." Zuko points out but Iroh just tells him to be quiet and June's eyes open, clearly displeased.

* * *

They made it back to the ship but the two teens couldn't look at one another the entire time they made their way to the ship. Lieutenant Jee walks over to see the teens still blushing red but Iroh couldn't help a chuckle escape his lips making the teens snap their heads to him, telling him to keep his mouth shut. But they should have never thought Iroh could keep a secret like that and soon told the crew what had happened during dinner knowing Rin would have her regular bath like every day at the same time while Zuko would meditate and had the chance to tell the crew what happened from start to finish. They all shared a laugh and soon started betting on when their fierce General Rin and brash Prince Zuko would admit their growing feeling for one another.

* * *

Sokka, Katara, Aang and Appa are being led through the forest at night by the rebels they had met earlier that day. "Jeong Jeong told you not to look for the Avatar!" Lin Yi snaps at Chey for disobeying orders.

"Hold on, you knew these guys!?" Sokka asks Chey.

"Oh yeah! Lin Yi's an old buddy! Right, Lin Yi?" Chey asks knowing the answer already.

"Shut up! Keep moving." Lin Yi orders him lowering his spear at Chey and they continue walking in the forest to their destination.

* * *

In the Fire Nation town, they had just visited in the now deserted central square of the town where some local guards are being interrogated by Admiral Zhao who is flanked by a few guards. "So, the Avatar was here and you let him slip away?" Zhao questions them.

"Yes, sir, but other than that the festival went off without a hitch!" The Officer replies proudly and a huge piece of burning wall falls down in the background with a massive crash. "No fights. Theft was way down." He adds.

"I don't care about your local crime rates! Which way did they go?" Zhao interrogates.

"They headed into the forest, up the river I suspect." The Officer answers pointing the direction.

"Ready the river boats. We're going after the Avatar." Zhao orders his men and they obey like usual terrified of him.

* * *

Aang walks over to the entrance to Jeong Jeong's hut and takes a deep breath, parts of the curtain before walking into the darkness. A dark figure seated cross-legged amidst a semicircle of candles, his back to Aang. "Get out." Jeong Jeong orders the young Avatar before he can even speak.

"Master, I need to learn firebending." Aang tries reasoning with him.

"Only a fool seeks his own destruction." Jeong Jeong replies wisely.

* * *

 _At his final pronouncement, the candles flame up around Jeong Jeong to illuminate the entire tent, when the flames go out its pitch black. A vision for Jeong Jeong begins, as one candle lights up in front of Jeong Jeong and the other candles disappear. Instead of in the tent, there's a tree in the background behind him and in front of him, stands Avatar Roku. "You think I am weak?" Avatar Roku questions him._

 _"Avatar Roku! No! No!" Jeong Jeong denies inclining his head in respect. "I did not mean that!"_

 _"I have mastered the elements a thousand times in a thousand lifetimes. Now, I must do it again. You will leach the Avatar firebending." Avatar Roku tells him._

 _"I understand." Jeong Jeong agrees but before he comes out of the vision he sees a glimpse of long blond hair and glowing purple eyes. He gasps at the mere glimpse of memories of sixteen years ago when he met someone much like that before he left for yet another fight but never saw her again. After that final thought, Avatar Roku raises his left hand and the tree behind Jeong Jeong bursts into flames and the vision ends._

* * *

"Yes, yes, I will teach you." Jeong Jeong agrees coming out of his trance still thinking about the glimpse he saw the woman he loved so many years ago.

"Really? That's great!" Aang cheers mostly for himself not taking much notice of anything else and this irritates the Deserter looking at Aang's enormously cheesy smile plastered on his young face.

* * *

Jeong Jeong turns around to face the boats which shoot fireballs at him, they land harmlessly all around him. Zhao looks ahead through a telescope from the main deck of his ship and lowers the telescope, smiling. Jeong Jeong, with a few powerful motions, produces an awesome wall of fire perhaps a hundred feet across the entire river in front of the ships. "Don't worry, men. My old teacher game up fighting a long time ago." Zhao encourages his crew. Jeong Jeong stands behind the wall of fire, when suddenly, Zhao parts the wall of fire just enough for him to walk through. "Master Jeong Jeong." Zhao greets his old master and Jeong Jeong drops the wall of fire. Zhao and his men stand against the lone Firebending Master. "Look at you. You were once so great. I can't believe my former master has become nothing more than a simple savage." He comments.

"It is you who have embraced savagery, Zhao." Jeong Jeong retorts.

"It's Admiral Zhao, now." He replies quickly proud of his accomplishments but he was still angry that a sixteen-year-old girl was a General way before him and he would get his revenge for his humiliation.

"That title will not help you against the Avatar. Do not try to fight him! You are no match!" Jeong Jeong warns him even if he was just a foolish man for it,

"I think I can handle a child." Zhao laughs at the ridiculous warning.

"I have never seen such raw power." Jeong Jeong states.

"Jeong Jeong!" Aang shouts out to him.

"We'll see. Men! Take the Deserter!" Zhao orders his men and Jeong Jeong is surrounded by five of Jeong Jeong's spearmen. Aang stops short in horror as they close in on him but Jeong Jeong just smiles and wraps himself in a massive ball of flame and when it dissipates, he is gone. "It's a trick! He's run off into the woods. Find him!" Zhao orders his men in angry and turns to Aang. "Let's find out what my old master has taught you." He inquires.

"YOU were Jeong Jeong's student? I thought maybe Rin was considering she's so powerful." Aang questions shocked wondering who had taught the teenage girl.

"Until I got bored. But Rin is no match for me." Zhao boasts thinking it was true and launches a fireball at Aang, who dodges that and another. "I see he taught you how to duck and run like a coward. But I doubt he showed you what a Firebender is truly capable of! He ran away whenever it got bad, poor girl, she died thinking he never loved her." Zhao rambles and launches another fireball at Aang. It flies over Aang's head as the young Avatar produces a flat, spinning whirlwind of air underneath him and balances himself on top of it with one finger.

"Who! Wild Shot!" Aang shouts and wonders why Zhao had mentioned something about a woman but why mention it now of all times?

"I'll show you wild!" Zhao shouts back at the young boy and fires several more volleys which Aang either dodges or breaks with airbending. Zhao's blasts have torched much of the surrounding forest and the sky fills with smoke.

"No self-control…" Aang says to himself as he looks over at the boats then back to Zhao.

"Stand and fight, Avatar!" Zhao shouts out to him.

"Oh, were we fighting? I thought you were just getting warmed up." Aang taunts him.

"I was!" Zhao practically screams losing all of his self-control and fires many volleys, all of which miss Aang.

"Is that all you got? Man, they'll make anyone an admiral these days! Rin can do so much better!" Aang continues to taunt him hitting nerve after nerve. Zhao launches another errant fire blast with a dreadful noise of frustration, Aang airbends himself up onto one of the ships. "Ahoy!" He yells out sticking his but out at the Admiral and wiggling it suggestively. "I'm Admiral Zhao!" He teases him. Zhao looks angry then makes another noise of frustration and jumps up onto the main deck launching a blast of fire. It sets the bridge on fire, but Aang just jumps off unharmed to the aft section jumping the aft section of the next ship.

"I don't know why, but I thought you'd be better than Zuko or Rin." Aang taunts him more looking disappointed when he says this and hangs his arms by his sides, letting them dangle. His eyes go wide and fall flat on the deck fast, though, as a wall of fire passes over him. On the second ship guard railing, Zhao is visible through it on the deck of the first ship and he has just blasted a hole through the guard railing of both ships with the wall of fire Aang just avoided. "Sloppy. Very sloppy." Zhao cries in frustration and he follows Aang around the boats, spreading fire to each of them in his vain effort to get Aang. Momentarily out of Zhao's sights, Aang hides behind one of the deck cabins, Zhao lands behind him, however, having jumped down from the top of the deck cabin, Aang turns to face him.

"Nowhere to run now, you little smart mouth!" Zhao rages and launches a firebolt which Aang dodges by flipping over Zhao's head to land behind him. The bridge on the third and last of the ships now on fire.

"You've lost this battle," Aang states before airbending himself into their as Zhao sets fire to the third ship's prow.

* * *

On the Fire Nation Navy ship, a blond teen continuously sneezes as she stands next to Zuko on the deck. "Dear General Rin, you have been sneezing all day, have you caught a cold?" Iroh asks the teen.

"I don't believe so, it could just be someone talking about me." She points out looking out into the ocean as if it would give her the answer to who was talking about her.

"Yeah right," Zuko scoffs at the thought and walks away as Rin grins to herself.

"It must feel so bad if you're not the subject of everyone's conversations." Rin taunts him and he stops in mid-step and turns around looking flustered. "I'm only joking, come on Zuko you have to learn to laugh." She smiles at him and runs after him as she teases him as they walk away with the crew and his Uncle watching them walk away.

* * *

In a Fire Navy port, ships line the harbour in the background and in the foreground is a tent surrounded by guards. Inside is Admiral Zhao, looking over a map of the world. "He's heading North. The Northern Water Tribe. The Avatar needs to master waterbending. He's looking for a teacher." Zhao states and turns around to address the others in the room. His officers sit cross-legged on the floor like school children.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go get him!" Captain Li says determinedly.

"Patience, Captain Li. This isn't some little Earth village we can just march into. The Water Tribe is a great nation. There's a reason they've survived a hundred years of war. The frozen tundra is treacherous. The landscape itself is an icy fortress. We'll need a massive invasion force." Zhao tells them the plan.

* * *

The Fire Nation Navy ship is docked with the sound of stringed instruments can be heard playing a simple staccato tune. Lieutenant Jee plays one of the instruments along with General Iroh and the tune is then accompanied by drums and four men are around a campfire on the main deck of the ship. "Winter, spring, summer, and fall. Winter and spring, summer and fall. Four seasons, four loves. Four seasons, four loves." Iroh sings slightly out of tunes. During the song, two crewman dance in front of the fire, then a group of masked Fire Nation soldiers board the ship including Admiral Zhao. The music stops as the intruders are noted by the crew, Iroh and the others turn to look at the newcomers aboard.

* * *

Prince Zuko is in a dark cabin on the ship, his arms folded across his chest. The door at the far end of the cabin opens to Iroh leaning in but Zuko does not look at him. "For the last time, I'm not playing the sumki horn," Zuko tells his #uncle.

"No, it's about our plans. There's a bit of a problem." Iroh tells him as Rin and Zhao enter the room behind him.

"He's taking our crew," Rin informs Zuko.

"What!?" Zuko exclaims in outrage turning to face them.

"I've recruited them for a little expedition to the North Pole," Zhao tells them.

"Uncle, is that true?" Zuko asks him almost pleading.

"I'm afraid so. He's taking everyone." Iroh answers him, putting his arm over his face in woe. "Even the cook!" He cries out.

"Sorry, you won't be there to watch me capture the Avatar. But I can't have you getting in my way again. Also General Rin, you are welcome to join as my second in command." Zhao offers but Zuko charges him in anger, thankfully Iroh prevents him from tackling him, who walks over to inspect the curved broadswords on the wall, the same used by the Blue Spirit. Zhao's face, swollen in anger as he recognises the blades as he remembers the events of his encounter with the Blue and Purple Spirits. He takes one off the wall, then Zuko's eyes widen and mouth open, clearly recognising the danger he was in but Rin just closes his mouth. Iroh, visible over Zuko's shoulder, does not seem to see the danger his nephew is in along with Rin. Zhao begins to practice with the sword he removed from the wall. "I didn't know you were skilled with broadswords, Prince Zuko." He comments.

"I'm not. They're antiques. Just decorative." Zuko answers cooly.

"Have you heard of the Blue and Purple Spirit, General Iroh?" Zhao asks him, purposely ignoring Rin and Zuko.

"Just rumours. I don't think they are real." Iroh dismisses it.

"They're real alright. They're criminals, enemies of the Fire Nation." Zhao retorts and hands the broadswords to Iroh. "But I have a feeling that justice will catch up with them soon." He moves to exit the cabin past Rin and Iroh. "General Iroh, General Rin, the offer to join my mission still stands if you change your mind." He reminds them and closes the door behind him.

"Was it just me or did you want to hit him too?" Rin asks the men but Zuko just looks at her with a look of gratitude in his eyes, he was glad her and his Uncle stayed by his side even now.

* * *

Back on the Fire Navy port from earlier, Zhao begins to speak. "I'm very impressed," Zhao comments as he sits at his desk, a small chest and a lamp in front of him. Two men face him across the desk and it's realised that they are the same pirates that Zuko, Iroh and Rin had encountered before. "You all seem highly qualified for the mission I have in mind," Zhao tells them as a pair of hands reach out for the chest and pulls it towards the entire pirate gang, including the Captain, which he has opened the chest to reveal glowing riches inside. The Pirate Salesmen removes a gold piece from the chest and bites down on it.

"That's some tasty gold!" Pirate Barker says in glee and the Captain grabs in putting it back in the chest. The Captain leans forwards looking sceptically at Admiral Zhao over the table.

"What do you need us to do?" The Pirate Captain asks him.

"I believe you're acquainted with Prince Zuko and General Rin?" Zhao asks them smiling evilly.

* * *

It's night time on the Fire Nation Navy ship docked with the crew standing outside the ship and one of them yells 'good luck!' with Rin hugging them goodbye as the part ways. But Prince Zuko isn't there he's lying in his bed in his cabin inside the ship when the door opens and Iroh sticks his head in. "The crew wanted me to wish you safe travels," Iroh informs his depressed nephew.

"Good riddance to those traitors." Zuko scoffs knowing it wasn't true but he was angry all the same.

"It's a lovely night for a wall. Why don't you join me? It would clear your head." Iroh asks him smiling but falls away as Zuko refuses to respond. "Or, just stay in your room and sit in the dark. Whatever makes you happy. Rin will join you I'm sure as she seems to have taken the crew leaving hard." Iroh adds but tries to get a response from his nephew but he still stays silent. He leaves, closing the door behind him but the door opens again to Rin walking in and sits on Zuko's bed by his feet, they just stay in silence enjoying each others company.

* * *

On the prow of the ship, Iroh's silhouette can be seen walking down the gangplank onto the dock, humming a song he was singing earlier to himself. As he passes by the Pirate Captain's green parrot flies by, some time passes by before on the main deck where the pirates climb aboard the ship. The Pirate Barker goes over the opposite railing of the ship and lowers down some ropes with hooks at the end, below in a small skiff are two more pirates with barrels of explosives. They attach the hooks to the barrels of explosives which are then hoisted up, one of the pirates on the deck almost drops the barrel, but luckily recovers it. "Careful with the blasting jelly!" Pirate Barker whisper-shouts at them as he turns one of the door latches. It makes a much louder noise then he thought.

* * *

The noise travels through the ship, making Zuko sit straight up in bed as he and Rin look at each other in alarm. "Uncle?" Zuko questions getting up from his bed with Rin behind him and open his door looking out into the corridor. "Uncle, is that you?" He asks into the corridor then turns to Rin then jumps out into the corridor in a fighting stance with Rin walking out behind him. They warily advance to the bridge, ready for instant combat around every corner while Rin puts Zuko behind her to protect him.

* * *

On the main deck where the Pirates light a trail of gunpowder before running off the ship as Rin and Zuko walk around the bridge as the lit trail of gunpowder shortens. At last, Zuko turns around and looks out one of the bridge windows to see the Pirate Captain's green parrot, it croaks at him and takes off. Zuko realises what the bird's appearance means strikes him and he turns to Rin but it's too late, the lit gunpowder reaches the barrels of blasting jelly. The bridge deck and main deck explode, blasting Zuko and Rin out the bridge window holding onto each other. Another explosion rips the vessel completely open mid ship as Iroh walks down a dirt road, the explosion in full bloom behind him. He turns around after hearing the noise to look and his face contorts with surprise and fear for his nephew and Rin. "Zuko! Rin!" Iroh shouts in fear for them and begins running back to the ship. Iroh reaches the dock, to the burning debris falling all around him, he feels dwarfed by the massive fireball that was the ship. Iroh's face is well lit up by the blazing fire in front of him that is the ship. "Zuko… Rin…" He whispers lowering his face in sadness not wanting to look at the burning ship.

* * *

Somewhere in the Fire Nation with a red background, Iroh and Zhao are having tea opposite one another at a low table. A map of the world hanging on the wall beside them as he pours more tea. "I'm devastated to hear about Prince Zuko and General Rin. Just devastated." Zhao tells Iroh but it didn't come across that way as Iroh's look of pain crosses his face and closes his eyes as he feels the pain.

"The Fire Lord will not be pleased, when he learns who was responsible," Iroh tells him opening his eyes to look at the Admiral.

"You know who… was behind the attack?" Zhao asks him suspiciously, frowning at the older man.

"Yes…" Iroh answers, slamming the table with his first. "Pirates! We had a run in with them awhile back." He tells him though it wasn't all true and Zhao's mouth which was a frown now turns into a smile. "They wanted revenge." He adds for effect to clear any suspicion.

"So, have you reconsidered my offer?" Zhao asks him changing the subject after taking a sip of his tea.

"Yes, I accept. It will be an honour to serve as your General." Iroh replies raising his glass in a toast like manner. "To the Fire Nation!" He cheers as Zhao too raises his glass.

"To victory!" Zhao cheers as outside of the naval base and the Fire Nation flag flutters in the wind.

* * *

On the Fire Nation navy base, the ships line the dock as Iroh walks down a corridor in Zhao's ship as two guards walk in the other direction. They stop when near one another avoiding looking like they are talking. "Our plan is working perfectly. Zhao doesn't suspect a thing." Iroh informs the two soldiers in a soft quiet tone.

"You didn't have to do this," Zuko tells his Uncle as the two soldiers remove their guard masks to reveal the beaten up faces of Zuko and Rin.

"No nephew or a dear friend of mine is going to stow away on a ship without some backup!" Iroh retorts.

"Thank you, Uncle," Zuko says.

"Thank you, Iroh." Rin whispers.

"Someone's coming!" Iroh announces as they hear a sound and the two teens replace their masks. "Stay hidden until we get to the North Pole and the Avatar will be yours! Good luck!" He tells them and they go their separate ways, the two teens go around the corner and Rin doubles over slightly, Zuko catches her with worry for the girl he has grown strong feelings for.

"Do your ribs still hurt?" He asks her with concern.

"I'll live, I'm a fast healer, we just need to get the Avatar before that big head," Rin argues and looks up at Zuko, she couldn't see his face but for some reason, she could still feel his concern and she couldn't be happier that he couldn't see the blush spreading on her face.

* * *

On the upper decks of Zhao's ship are Iroh and him on the outside walkway around the bridge. "My fleet is ready. Set a course for the Northern Water Tribe." Zhao orders his men as there are dozens of Fire Nation navy ships firing up their engines in preparation to launch the final assault on the Northern Water Tribe.

* * *

Somewhere on the ship, Zuko sits with his mask still covering his face as he looks around thinking about Rin and how he feels about her but he couldn't decide if he should tell her or not. He felt lonely without her by his side right at this second, he hears the sound of footsteps and looks up to see a soldier walking over to him, he could tell it was Rin from the height and stands up to face her. She removes her mask and he does the same, he felt horrible for the way she looked with cuts and bruises on her face, he felt responsible for them. He had to stop himself from caressing her cheek in affection as she looked so down about their situation. "We'll be there so and we can go home with the Avatar," Zuko tells her and she just nods not really caring about going back to the Fire Nation. They both sit down with one another and Rin scoots herself closer to Zuko thankfully she didn't look up at him as he was blush bright red.


	12. The Siege of The End Part 1

_"Water... Earth... Fire... Air…" Katara voices over as the benders demonstrate as she talks. "My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of peace when the Avatar kept the balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked." It journeys into the map showing the world and closes in on a bender displaying all the elements. "Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless firebenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished." He disappears from sight. "A hundred years have passed and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe." It shows the Water Tribe men on their boats and Katara hugging her older brother Sokka holding up a lantern. "Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle is broken, but I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow the Avatar will return to save the world."_

 **The Siege of The End Part 1**

In the Water Tribe City plaza at the foot of the Citadel steps where Katara faced off with Master Pakku. The segmented ice columns that Katara topped during the duel had been repaired finally. It is morning and two Waterbending students face off against each other, the student to the left a nervous looking teenage boy whose left eye twitches slightly in anxiety. His opponent is Katara who looks confident, a slight smile on her face when the boy raises up a ball of water, turning it to ice and throws it at his opponent. Katara bends the ice around her, while liquefies it at the same time, and sends a huge stream of water back at the boy who washes up and backwards. As he is washed away, the water turns to ice, imprisoning the boy about ten feet off the ground. Katara who relinquishes her Waterbending stance while Master Pakku approaches her from over her shoulder. "Nice try, Pupil Sangok. A couple of more years and you might be ready to fight a sea sponge." Master Pakku taunts him as Pupil Sangok continues to struggle against his bonds that hold him. Master Pakku turns away, making a motion with his left hand, and the ice prison melts away, dropping the helpless student to the ground. The rest of Master Pakku's students sit slumped on the ground who all appear to be teenage boys. "Would anyone care for a rematch with Katara?" He asks his pupils and they all shake their heads. "Katara, you have advanced more quickly than any student I have ever trained. You have proven that with fierce determination, passion and hard work you can accomplish anything." He tells her turning to look at the young Avatar. "Raw talent alone is not enough." He says looking at Aang lying on the ground, floating Momo around on an airball, a lazy smile on his face. "Pupil Aang!" He calls out to him this causes Momo's airball to dissipate and Momo falls on Aang's head.

"Yes, Master Pakku?" Aang replies.

"Care to step into the sparring circle? I figure since you've found time to play with house pets you must have already mastered Waterbending." Master Pakku asks him rhetorically and Aang airbends himself to his feet.

"I wouldn't say 'mastered', but check this out!" Aang tells him and spins around, collecting snow around him as he goes. When he's done, he has made himself into a snowman then Momo pounces onto him, knocking him down. Master Pakku and Katara wear similar expressions of disdain looking at Aang, Master Pakku shakes his head in disgust at the young Avatar's actions.

* * *

In one of the city's many canals on another bridge, Princess Yue begins to speak as she and Sokka walk on top of the bridge's guardrail. "So they don't have palaces in the Southern Tribe?" Princess Yue asks him.

"Are you kidding? I grew up in a block of ice. It's not exactly a cultural hub." Sokka tells her stopping and sitting down on the railing. Yue laughs at this with a warm smile, putting her hand on Sokka's shoulder and after a moment she pulls back looking at him seriously.

"Sokka, this is wrong," Yue tells him pulling away.

"What's wrong? We're taking a walk!" Sokka argues seeing nothing wrong with what they were doing.

"I'm engaged. It just… feels…" Yue tries saying but Sokka's smile wanes as she begins to walk away, but the smile returns as he gets an idea.

"I know what you need!" He tells her hopping off the railing to stand by her side. "You need to meet my good friend Appa!" He tries to cheer her up.

"Who?" She asks him confused as she thought she had met everyone already.

* * *

Sokka and Yue enter Appa's pen, he's eating from an enormous pile of greenery in front of him as Sokka opens his arms to Appa, who is in front of him. "Appa and I go way back. Don't we boy?" Sokka asks the large beast. The thunder of Appa's shifting bulk can be heard and Sokka's features turn to surprise, Appa enters from the left pinning him down with his forepaws. "Ahh! Easy!" He yells out in a panic and Appa licks him from bottom to top - twice. "Down boy! Ahh! No! Up!" He keeps yelling.

"Looks like you haven't been giving Appa enough attention." Yue teases him laughing. Sokka struggles trying to free himself from Appa's embrace. He somehow gets free of Appa's hold on him and they sit in Appa's saddle. "So how does this work?" She asks him.

"You hangin' on tight?" He asks her and she is. "Yip…. Yip!" He yells the last part for effect and Appa soars into the nearly cloudless sky.

"Oh...my...goodness!" She exclaims in happiness as they fly over the city and the water outside the main city gates as Appa flies effortlessly. "Wow!" She blushes slightly. "I can't believe you do this every day!" She gushes.

"Yeah, we pretty much live up here." He says stretching.

"Is it always this cold in the sky?" She asks him hugging herself to keep warm she snuggles up against Sokka.

"Not when you're with someone." He answers as Yue looks at Sokka, her cheeks red.

"It's beautiful up here." She complements looking out at the view.

"Yeah." He agrees while they look at each other with adoration and they come so close to kissing before they break off. "Whoo! Yeah! Good times! Good times!" He tries waving it off as snowflakes begin to fall all around them. "Hey, look!" He points down as Appa flies down into a squall of snowflakes, most of the snowflakes are black.

"What's happening?" She asks him almost in curiosity but also fear.

"Oh no." He says as he looks ahead of them as the black snowflakes fall over the city. All the citizens inside of the city pause regarding the ask falling from the sky.

* * *

Aang laughing as he rolls around in a circle in the snow with Momo nearby within a few seconds ash falls around him from the sky, but he doesn't notice. Momo sticks out his tongue, catches some ash and eats it then spits it back out as Aang rolls back, Aang notices the ash finally and looks up. Katara in the background does the same looking up into the sky where the ash falls, Master Pakku and a few other city dwellers near a fountain look up at the ash.

* * *

Back with Sokka and Yue on Appa, they land on the ground with the sky with ash falling all around them as they pass. "Soot," Sokka announces picking up some of the ash on the ground, he kneels on the ground.

"What?" Yue asks him confused.

"I've seen it before. Right before my village was attacked. It's soot mixed with snow." He tells her then stands up.

"But why?" She asks him.

"It's the Fire Nation. They've closed in on the North Pole. And from the looks of the stuff…" He tells her as they look over the ocean horizon, which has darkened by a dense grey cloud. "...I'd say there's a lot of them." He finishes off.

* * *

The prows of the Fire Nation Navy vessels cut through the waves of the ice cold ocean. "This will truly be one for the history books, General Iroh," Zhao announces so full of himself as they stand on the bridge of Zhao's flagship. "Just think, centuries from now, people will study the great Admiral Zhao who destroyed the last of the Water Tribe civilization. You're lucky you're here to see it." He boasts so full of himself.

"Be careful what you wish for, Admiral. History is not always kind to its subjects." Iroh warns him thinking of his nephew and Rin.

"I suppose you speak from experience? But rest assured, this will be nothing like your legendary failure at Ba-Sing-Se." He retorts throwing ha harsh memory back at the old caring man.

"I hope not, for your sake," Iroh replies brushing off his grating comment.

"Tell the Captains to prepare for the first strike." He orders and Iroh turns around walking away out.

* * *

The ship cuts through the icy waters as Iroh, Zuko and Rin, who are still in their guard disguises, in a hallway on the ship. "We'll be landing soon. Do you have a plan?" Iroh asks the two teens in a whisper tone.

"We're working on it, Uncle." Zuko answers removing his mask then replaces his mask and they split up naturally.

* * *

Around the corner from the corridor, the two teens continue to walk when Rin pushes Zuko into an open door, the room thankfully is empty as she takes her helmet off to look directly at the young Prince. "What is the plan Zuko, every time I ask you about it, you brush me off, why?" RIn accuses him.

"I don't want you to come with me," Zuko answers her and regrets the way he said it when looking at her look of sadness come over her face at his words. "I don't want you to get hurt, Rin." He adds trying to make her understand. She looks up at him with a look of surprise at his words as they were almost unusually to the teen boy who used sometimes harsh words to others.

"I understand, Zuko but I'm a big girl I can look after myself. I have for the last six years." She tells him wanting to tell him that she too didn't want him to get hurt, but couldn't find the words and moves to leave the room walking down the corridor without looking back at Zuko following her.

* * *

Within the Water City, as the feet of Water Tribe Warriors run across the ice, then two Water Tribe men strike a gong with alternating strokes on top of one of the city's buildings. The gong has symbols representing both the moon and the ocean on it, many city dwellers running up the steps of the citadel, including Master Pakku and Sokka, Yue in tow. The Princess stops, bringing Sokka to a half along with her. "What's wrong?" Sokka asks her pointing up to the citadel. "We have to go!" He tells her.

"No, Sokka, wait. I can't see you anymore. Not at all." Yue tells him as he releases his grip on her hand.

"What? We're just friends." He tells her turning in surprise.

"I wish we could just be friends, but I like you too much and it's too confusing to be around you. I'm marrying someone else." She tells him.

"You don't love him, do you? You don't even seem to like him." He realises looking at her.

"But I do love my people." She argues.

"You're not marrying them." He reminds her.

"You don't understand. I have duties to my father, to my tribe." She tells him running off, barely holding back tears. "I have to do this, goodbye!" She cries out as Sokka looks with distraught at her sudden departure.

* * *

Chief Arnook begins a speech to a group of Water Tribe warriors, his voice echoes through the great hall as he speaks. Behind him sits Princess Yue and Master Pakku, on the floor, their backs to a nearby wall sits Aang, Katara and Sokka. "The day we have feared for so long has arrived. The Fire Nation is on our doorstep. It is with great sadness I call my family here before me, knowing well that some of these faces are about to vanish from our tribe. But they will never vanish from our hearts. Now, as we approach the battle for our existence," Chief Arnook speaks and raises his arms up to the heavens in supplication. "I call upon the great spirits! Spirit of the Ocean! Spirit of the Moon! Be with us!" He lowers his arms and continues to address them. "I'm going to need volunteers for a dangerous mission." He asks the room.

"Count me in," Sokka says standing up to be counted.

"Sokka!" Katara exclaims in worry over losing her older brother as many more of the men in the room stand up in the crowd with him.

"Be warned. Many of you will not return. Come forward to receive my mark if you accept the task." Chief Arnook tells them as all the men form a line in front of Chief Arnook to receive their mark. The mark they receive is three red lines on the forehead, made from some paint that Chief Arnook holds in a bowl in front of him. Sokka is second in line as he leaves, he turns making eye contact with Princess Yue before he turns again and walks away. Princess Yue begins to cry silently over watching the scene in front of her.

* * *

Aang sits on one of the pylons at the top of the citadel steps, he looks out over the city walls to the ocean horizon in the distance. Behind him, Chief Arnook approaches him. "The stillness before battle is unbearable." Chief Arnook states and Katara walks behind Aang to his left. "Such a quiet dread." He adds looking out into the ocean horizon.

"I wasn't there when the Fire Nation attacked my people," Aang says as a fierce expression comes over his face. "I'm gonna make a difference this time." He promises not just the Chief or his friends but himself too. He stands up on top of the pylon, Katara to his left and the Chief to his right.

* * *

The city of water looks all calm and quiet on a beautiful sunny day, as a row Water Tribe warriors line the top of the city wall, their faces painted ready for war. Across the wall, reveals a solid line of warriors, with Aang atop Appa in the centre with Katara and Sokka standing to Appa's left as they all look out to sea with expressions of fierce determination. In the distance a single ship can be seen, it launches a fireball which hurtles directly at the centre of the city wall on the water symbol in the centre blowing a massive hole through it. Many defenders are blown back into the city by the concussion, along with huge chunks of wall ice and debris.

Another fireball flies through the air towards the city landing in a canal with an explosion of smoke, water and fire. The Fire Nation crew launch another fireball from the trebuchet on the approaching ship's foredeck. It strikes the right side of the city wall, shattering a piece of it off, making Appa recoil and roar as the smoke and exploding ice creating havoc around him. "Yip! Yip!" Aang yells at his best friend as they launch off the wall towards the Fire Nation Navy ship while the defenders on the wall try to reorganize themselves. Sokka searches among the wreckage of the ruined ice wall for his sister.

"Katara!?" Sokka yells as he walks behind a large mound of snow which begins to move. A large chunk of the snow mound blows out of the way as Katara Waterbends it away to release herself. Sokka helps his little sister to her feet in time to see two more fireballs come over the city wall.

* * *

Appa roars in the sky with Aang at his reigns, a stern look on his face. As Aang and Appa approach the Fire Nation Navy ship it fires a few more fireballs at them. The last one Aang bats out of the way with his staff. The blow from his staff changes the trajectory of the fireball and it goes wild, harmlessly striking the ice cliff way to the left of the city. "I'll take it from here, boy!" Aang tells Appa and he begins to invert himself allowing Aang to just fall off the saddle into a free fall. Appa exits as Aang continues his free fall, after a few seconds he opens his glider and closes in on the ship. Dodging several more fireballs Aang arrives on the foredeck, breaking the rest of his fall by using his staff as a helicopter blade. Once he lands, he whips up a gale that blows most of the deck crew away, Aang then hops up into the arm of the loaded trebuchet and begins to walk down it. A huge Fire Nation soldier blocks his path, however, he is forced back up the arm as two more soldiers have climbed up the trebuchet behind Aang. They all swing mighty hammers at the Avatar but miss, damaging the trebuchet when finally, Aang jets into the air with a mighty blow blasts the trebuchet into a dozen pieces.

Aang runs over to the other trebuchet on the same deck breaking the chain this stops the trebuchet arm from overextending then fires it. The arm overextends and the weapon shoots the fireball into the deck, straight through the foredeck and into the water below. Aang runs back up the deck to two more trebuchets, Fire Nation guards in tow as he ties the chains of the two trebuchets together in a bow knot. Aang then runs over to one of the machines firing mechanisms kicking it into operation activating the trebuchet draws the one it is tied to across the deck towards itself. When one of them strikes the other they disintegrate into a pile of useless junk.

Aang grins widely as he runs over to another trebuchet and observed by a large Fire Nation warrior, he's about to strike the firing mechanism with a hammer when he sees the warrior approach. Aang drops the hammer in fear, narrowly avoiding multiple hammers attached to chains that attempt to strike him. The warrior wields the chained hammers as weapons, hiding behind one of the trebuchet's grinders, Aang quickly ensnared by two chains which wrap around him. The warrior controlling the chains as Appa's feet suddenly swoop into the frame, breaking the chain and sweeping the warrior out of the way. Aang frees himself from his now loose chains. "Appa!" Aang cheers as Appa peers over the side of the ship and ejects the chain warrior overboard with a grunt and a shove of his paw. Aang runs over jumping onto Appa's forehead, bear hugging his best friend. "Thanks for the rescue, buddy!" He says still hugging him when suddenly the ship starts to vibrate violently. A huge spear of ice breaks through the foredeck straight into the sky as the port side hull is now encased in rapidly expanding ice. The Fire Nation Navy ship has been surrounded by Water Tribe skiffs full of Waterbenders. Together they through the Fire Nation Navy ship out of the water onto a bed of ice as Appa and Aang take off the now heavily listing deck. As Aang and Appa rise above the now wrecked ship, Aang's expression turns to horror and surprise as he looks in front of him. In the horizon, it's full of Fire Nation Navy ships as far as the eye can see. "You have got to be kidding me." He gasps as the Water Tribe warriors walk up the stairs.

* * *

Chief Arnook once again addresses a group of soldiers. "Men you'll be infiltrating the Fire Nation Navy. That means you'll all need one of these uniforms…" He addresses them, Hahn walks over in what appears to be a Fire Nation Navy uniform. He has a look of arrogance about him with his dark hair as the uniform he wears, while clearly Fire Nation origin, it was not a current standard issue. In particular, the shoulder armour has wings that curve upward which wasn't on the ones of today. Sokka laughs putting his hand over his mouth to stop himself as the other warriors turn to look at him.

"What's your problem?" Hahn asks him clearly not getting why he was laughing.

"Fire Navy uniforms don't look like that," Sokka tells him pointing at Hahn.

"Of course they do. These are real uniforms captured from actual Fire Navy soldiers." Hahn retorts.

"When, like a hundred years ago?" Sokka asks him.

"Eighty-five." Chief Arnook states as if that was okay. It wasn't.

"The Fire Nation doesn't wear shoulder spikes anymore. The newer uniforms are more streamlined." Sokka informs them walking over and bends the top of one the shoulder spikes with the tip of his finger and it bounces back to its original shape.

"How do we know we can trust this guy?" Hahn asks the Chief. "Such bold talk for a new recruit." He says to Sokka leaning into him with a threatening expression.

"Sokka is from our sister tribe, Hahn, he is a capable warrior and I value his input." Chief Arnook informs him as Sooka looks smugly at Hahn, who does not look too pleased by this, then the Chief turns back around to finish his address. "Now, our first objective is to determine the identity of their commanding officers."

"His name is Zhao. Middle-aged. Big sideburns. Bigger temper." Sokka tells them.

"Sokka, I want you to tell everything you know to Hahn, he is leading this mission. Hahn, show Sokka your respect. I expect nothing less from my future son-in-law." Chief Arnook tells them before exiting as Hahn pushes his hair back over his ears and leaving Sokka jaw dropped in shock at what he had just said and soon recovers pointing an accusing finger at Hahn.

"Princess Yue's marrying you?" Sokka asks him in disbelief.

"Yeah, what of it?" Hahn asks him not seeing the importance.

"Nothing, congratulations." Sokka lies turning away.

* * *

The advancing ranks of the Fire Nation Navy ships firing volleys of fireballs towards the ice city. Some land inside the city and some hit the outer wall with Master Pakku in front of a group of Waterbenders. "Stop those fireballs!" Master Pakku orders hem as a fireball bears down on them, they collectively raise up a barrier of water, freezing as the fireball impacts. The fireball gets extinguished.

* * *

On Zhao's flagship, he watches the bombardment from the bridge with Iroh. "It's almost twilight, Admiral. As your military consultant, I must advise you to halt your attack. The waterbenders draw their power from the moon and it is nearly full tonight. You should wait and resume the attack at daybreak." Iroh advises the stubborn man.

"Oh, I'm well aware of the moon problem and I am working on a solution. But for now, daybreak it is." Zhao agrees as the front ranks of the Fire Nation Navy ships anchor for the night, outside the Water City's main wall. Zhao's ship is in the second line of ships looking double in size to the others.

* * *

Katara and Princess Yue stand in front of the Citadel looking out over the city and its walls to the ling of threatening Fire Nation Navy ships. Plumes of smoke rise over several sections of the city that have been bombed. "They've stopped firing," Yue states looking at them as Appa swoops down.

"Aang!" Katara shouts out pointing at them. Appa lands on the plaza at the base of the Citadel steps, the girls run down to them. As Appa lands down lying down on his belly, his feet too tired to keep him up while Aang looks small and dejected in the saddle. He slides off coming to rest next to Appa's left forepaw.

"I can't do it," Aang tells them putting his hands to his head. "I can't do it."

"What happened?" Katara asks him.

"I must have taken out a dozen Fire Navy ships, but there's just too many of them. I can't fight them all." Aang tells them.

"But, you have to! You're the Avatar!" Katara tells him trying to cheer him up.

"I'm just one kid," Aang argues as he buries his head in his arms in despair as Katara sits down to comfort him.

* * *

The nearly full moon in the night sky, Zhao's command ship in the ocean below with Zuko and Rin now out of their Fire Nation Navy uniform entirely dressed in plain grey and black clothes, preparing a canoe to be lowered into the water. Behind them, a door opens to reveal Iroh entering and he shuts the door behind him. "If you're fishing for an octopus, my nephew and friend, you need a tightly woven net or he will squeeze through the tiniest hole and escape," Iroh advises them.

"I don't need your wisdom right now, Uncle," Zuko tells his Uncle wanting to get off the ship with RIn to find the Avatar.

"I'm sorry, I just nag you because, well, ever since I lost my son…" Iroh tries telling him looking away, pain evident on his face. Rin looks away giving them some privacy at this moment was something between the two men that she didn't feel like she should see.

"Uncle, you don't have to say it," Zuko tells him knowing what he was going to say.

"I think of you as my own." Iroh finishes regardless and Zuko turns to him, a genuine look of concern and understanding on his face.

"I know, Uncle," Zuko replies not know what to say but that was enough, then he bows and salutes to his dear Uncle with his arm over his chest. "We'll meet again…" Zuko tries saying as Iroh rushes forward giving him a bear hug they release each other and Zuko walks over to Rin pushing her towards his Uncle who too hugs the girl way out of her comfort zone as she rigidly returns the hug and they soon walk over to the canoe. "...after I have the Avatar." The two teens get into the canoe and begin to lower themselves into the water.

"Remember your Breathe of Fire! It could save your lives out there!" Iroh yells out to them.

"We will," Rin tells him.

"And put your hoods up, keep your ears warm!" Iroh parents them.

"We'll be fine," Zuko tells him now far below his Uncle as he looks worried as he watches their departure.

* * *

In the canoe, the two Fire Nation teens make their way over the water focused on getting into the Water City undetected and safe. Rin looks at Zuko in admiration as she thinks of his hope and drive to find the Avatar at any cost, it reminded her of herself in some ways as she had so much drive to succeed. Zuko looks ahead feeling Rin looking at him from behind, he could feel his cheeks heat up at all the thoughts **(nothing dirty)** going through his head about Rin even when she would secretly smile at something or joke around, over the last three years she had opened up to him. He too had opened up with her help over the last three years and he knew now what he felt towards her and it was a growing feeling in his chest that he had never felt before. Unaware that Rin was thinking of him as a friend but something more close to the heart.

* * *

Sokka sharpens an axe blade on a rotating wheel applying too much pressure to the blade causing sparks to fly off the blade. Sokka and Hahn perform the same take side by side but no sparks fly from Hahn's blade with Sokka's expression is clearly unhappy. "Let me tell ya, Soka, I've courted a lot of girls, but Yue is the finest - and she comes with the most perks." Hahn taunts him mispronouncing Sokka's name on purpose.

"Perks!? What does that mean?" Sokka asks him his eyes bulging with anger at what Hahn had said.

"I mean, Yue's nice and everything, but the points I'll get with the Chief aren't bad either." Hahn continues taunting him.

"Princess Yue is wasted on a self-absorbed weasel like you!" Sokka exclaims at the weasel.

"Whoa. Hang on. What do you care? You're just a simple rube from the Southern Tribe. What would you know of the political complexities of our life? No offence." Hahn says to him this causes to Sokka to yell in anger and tackles Hahn to the ground. Sokka ends up on top on him punching Hahn in the face in his angered haze.

"You're just a jerk without a soul! No offence!" Sokka yells out at him as they roll around a bit more before Chief Arnook breaks them apart.

"That's enough! Sokka, you're off the mission." Chief Arnook tells him as he exits again as Sokka looks away feeling humiliated at his actions he had just displayed.

"Alright, fall in men! Everybody listen to what I say and we'll take out this Admiral Jo in no time." Hahn says to the assembling soldiers as if nothing had happened.

"It's Admiral Zhao!" Sokka exclaims to the backs of Hahn and his departing soldiers.

* * *

Zuko and Rin navigate their canoe through the ice surrounding the City, they get out and wrap up their garb before taking off. Nearby, turtle seals can be heard making noise as they float silently near the damaged City wall, unseen by the sentries patrolling atop the damaged barrier. They beach the craft on the ice near the wall and spies several turtle seals disappearing into a hole in the ice. "Where are they going? They're coming up for air somewhere.." Zuko questions.

"Somewhere inside, I'd bet," Rin adds and Zuko takes off his veil, taking a deep breath and plunges into the icy water. Rin looks around the area feeling something strange in the air as if drawing her somewhere inside the walls of the city, she too takes a deep breath and plunges into the icy water joining Zuko.

* * *

Princess Yue, Katara and Aang look up at the nearly full moon in a room in the Citadel, Aang holds his head low. "The legends say the Moon was the first Waterbender. Our ancestors saw how it pushed and pulled the tides and learned how to do it themselves." Yue tells them.

"I've always noticed my Waterbending is stronger at night." Katara points out.

"Our strength comes from the Spirit of the Moon, our life comes from the Spirit of the Ocean. They work together to keep balance." Yue tells them.

"The Spirits! Maybe I can find them and get their help!" Aang exclaims, his eyes opening wide as he gets an idea.

"How can you do that?" Yue asks him confused.

"The Avatar is the bridge between our world and the Spirit World. Aang can talk to them!" Katara exclaims getting Aang's idea.

"Maybe they'll give you the wisdom to win this battle!" Yue says smiling hopefully at the idea of ending this battle.

"Or, maybe they'll unleash a crazy amazing spirit attack on the Fire Nation!" Aang exclaims spreading his arms wide. Yue and Katara regard Aang's words steadily but he just puts his arms behind his back and smiles. "Or wisdom. That's good too." He adds shyly.

"The only problem is, last time you got to the Spirit World by accident. How are you going to get there this time?" Katara asks him pointing out the problem they face.

"I have an idea, follow me," Yue tells them getting an idea and walks away.

* * *

The three walk through a courtyard behind the Citadel when Yue stops in front of a wooden half height door. "So is this the way to the Spirit World?" Aang asks her seemingly a silly question.

"No, you'll have to get there on your own," Yue tells him laughing and opens the door. "But I can take you to the most spiritual place in the entire North Pole." She adds.

* * *

Aang enters as Momo jumps off his shoulder onto Katara's. Inside the sanctuary is a long pool of water, at the back of the Chamber is a waterfall coming from the glacier way above. On the sides of the pool are two ledges by which one can access the landing at the back of the Chamber, the landing is filled with green foliage, another smaller pool that looks almost tropical in nature, and a small T shaped gate like structure very much akin to a Chinese paifang or perhaps a Japanese Toril. The landing is connected to the ledges on the side of the Chamber by two wooden footbridges. Aang's face, filled with wonder at the natural beauty before him.

Aang runs over the left bridge, laughing as he lands on the soft grass in front of the little pond rubbing it fondly. "I never thought I'd miss grass this much!" Aang exclaims in joy as he flops over on his back as Yue and Katara walk onto the landing themselves.

"It's so warm here! How is that possible?" Katara asks smiling taking off her overcoat as it was warmer there than in the City.

"It's the centre of all Spiritual energy in our land," Yue tells them as two koi fish circle each other in the pond in a timeless motion. One of the fish is white, the other is black, Momo skitters up to the pond beginning to try and grab one of the fish. Yue and Katara look severely at Momo, who decides to run away from their looks.

"You're right, Yue. I can feel...something...it's so...tranquil." Aang says sitting cross-legged in front of the pond his eyes closed, making two fists putting his knuckles together in an attempt to meditate.

* * *

In a dark cave filled with the sounds of turtle seals, there is another waterhole, its surface quickly broken by an out of breath Zuko, he flops onto the ice floor of the cave, his breath making clouds of water vapour in front of him. Soon after him, Rin breaks to the surface breathing heavily with clouds of water vapour coming out of her mouth. Zuko flips over, shivering and blows fire into his hands to warm himself up as Rin hops out of the water over to Zuko as he gets up. She blows fire out of her mouth into her hands and follows Zuko trying to stay warm. "Be quiet!" Zuko raises his voice at the noisy turtles as he picks Rin up from under her arms keeping her close to him to keep both of them warm. The turtle seals stop barking as they separate and walk by, but begin once they pass them, they approach a waterfall at the back of the cave.

"Zuko, I feel something strange," Rin tells him shivering almost violently, he turns to her in pure fear for the woman he had grown strong feelings for. He holds onto her tightly trying to share their warmth and looks her in the eyes, the usual gold was now purple she looks scared when he looks at her with a look of confusion and shock. "What is it?" She asks him and he turns her to the waterfall, she looks at her reflection to see her purple eyes. She looks closer and can't believe what she sees and turns to him but doesn't speak as she looks at the tunnel. "Zuko, I feel like we have to go through that tunnel, there's something there drawing me closer." She tells him and he just looks at her.

"Maybe it's telling you we'll find the Avatar, Rin and we can go home." He tells her, he wanted to tell her more but he wasn't sure what to say.

"I know." She says before entering the tunnel where the water is coming out and Zuko follows after her. His mind was swirling with what she had said and done but couldn't shake the worry for her as he follows behind her.

* * *

Sokka sharpens his boomerang in the same armoury he had fought with Hahn when Chief Arnook comes behind him. "Is something wrong, Sokka?" Chief Arnook asks him.

"Oh no! Hahn's out there on the top secret mission while I'm here sharpening my boomerang. Everything's fine!" Sokka replies sarcastically.

"Listen to me. I took you off the mission for selfish reasons. I have a special task in mind for you." Chief Arnook tells him.

"What? You want me to scrub the barracks?" Sokka asks him turning to the Chief in anger.

"I want you to guard my daughter, Princess Yue." Chief Arnook informs him.

"Er, sure. That shouldn't be too hard." Sokka replies getting up, with a look of innocence mingled with desire on his face then Chief Arnook leaves.

* * *

Rin forces herself up the tunnel with Zuko doing the same. He slips once but Rin catches him and they keep moving on, till they finally exit the tunnel into a bottom of a large pool of water. They swim up breaking the surface, gasping for air, the Chamber is inches above their heads. They regain their breath, then look just underneath the water line scanning for any exits. Zuko sees one, he points it out to Rin, they nod to one another and dive down entering another tunnel and go around one bend then up to what looks like an exit into the open air, but when Zuko reaches it, it proves to be just thinner, lighter coloured ice. They run out of breath, he concentrates and superheats his hands to red-hot placing them on the thin ice. He burns through it emerging into an ice tunnel within the Water Tribe City and pulls Rin up from the water tunnel and lies both of them down for a moment to regain their strength. Rin feels the strange feeling growing stronger as she lies down next to Zuko but it wasn't the feeling she usually had with him but something she had never felt before.

* * *

Aang still in his meditation pose beside the pool, Katara and Yue standing behind him. "Why is he sitting like that?" Yue asks Katara trying to whisper but failing slightly.

"He's meditating - trying to cross over into the Spirit World. It takes all his concentration." Katara answers her also trying to be quiet but Aang cracks an eye open at the continues interruptions.

"Is there any way we can help?" Yue asks her.

"How 'bout some quiet!?" Aang asks them turning around to look at them, Katara puts a hand over her mouth. "C'mon guys! I can hear every word you're saying!" He exclaims and resumes his pose. The black and white fish circle each other in front of him as Aang stares at them, as he looks at them they blur into the Yin & Yang symbol, then his eyes and head arrow glow white.

"Is he okay?" Yue asks Katara worried about the young Avatar.

"He's crossing into the Spirit World. He'll be fine as long as we don't move his body. That's his way back to the physical world." Katara informs her.

"Maybe we should get some help?" Yue asks beginning to walk away.

"No, he's my friend. I'm perfectly capable of protecting him." Katara promises her.

"Well, aren't you a big girl now?" Zuko taunts her as his voice echoed slightly in the Chamber.

"No!" Katara shouts turning around at the sound of his voice to see Zuko and Rin walking over the footbridge towards them.

"Yes! Hand him over, and we won't have to hurt you." Zuko tells her and she assumes a Waterbending stance, while Yue runs off but Aang, oblivious, still communes with the Spirit World in front of the pond.

Zuko launches forward, firing several blasts of fire and Rin joins him in the attack but Katara blocks all of them with water from the pond. They fire several more as they advance, but on the last one she uses enough water to not only douse their fire but hurl them backwards and they lie down flat on the ground. Rin sees flashes of blond hair and purple eyes then of a woman in a long dress that looked so familiar to her then of someone she had never met but heard so much about Jeong Jeong Jeong from around the time before she was born with the woman. Rin gasps getting up along with Zuko looking at him before facing off the young Waterbender. "I see you've learned a new trick. But we didn't come this far to lose to you." Rin remarks looking at the little Waterbender. She fires another blast which Katara blocks, then launches another stream of water at them, hurling Zuko backwards again as RIn moves quickly out of the way. He barely retains balance, but Katara freezes the water from under him, as his feet get frozen in the ice. "Zuko!" Rin shouts out to him watching on in fear for him till again she gasps seeing more flashes of images she couldn't tell what they were to her, she sees the woman again alone with a bulging belly - she was pregnant - and Rin felt scared at what she was seeing. While Rin stands still Katara makes an effort to quickly get one of the Firebenders out of the way by raising a churning sphere of water from the main pool behind Zuko, encasing him inside it, and freezes him entirely. With satisfaction written all over her face soon gets ripped off when a gout of purple fire zooms past her face just barely missing her. She turns her head ever so slightly to see Rin looking at Katara with pure fury in her now purple eyes while Zuko is inside the ice.

"You little peasant. You've found a master, haven't you?" Zuko asks her from inside the ice, then the ground begins to shake and the ice glows yellow and orange. As the two girls fight one another, fighting off one another's attacks, Rin advances on Katara when an explosion of fire from behind them, the shell of ice shatters, releasing Zuko who promptly charges at Katara with RIn by his side. They trade shots which all miss till RIn gets behind Katara almost grabbing Aang's collar, but Katara blasts her out of the way with a jet of water while using a stream of water to push Zuko away. Rin gets blown over to the right ledge and Zuko gets blown to the left ledge they both try to recover themselves, but Katara raises a huge wave of water that raises them to ten or more feet up the wall. Katara freezes them to the wall of the Chamber next to each other.

* * *

The sun rises over the horizon, lighting Master Pakku's face with two of his Waterbenders, they look out from the Citadel over the city wall to the Fire Nation Navy fleet.

* * *

"It's daybreak at lat. Let's write history." Zhao says voice full of determination as he looks over the railing of his ship to the City with Iroh behind him looking over with dread.

* * *

Zuko drops his head in defeat as the sunlight reaches them, though he feels Rin's hand in his, this fills him with determination his head snaps up with a look of determination as he breathes steam, catching on Rin joins him as they melt the ice holding them in place. They slide down and charge at Katara again together, they fire a joined huge blast of fire towards her, Katara caught off guard while she walks back to Aang blocks the oncoming fire but only partially. She gets thrown back into the post of the paifang gate causing her to get knocked out, when the smoke clears, Zuko looks over her while Rin takes a hold of Aang's collar again, the sun shining brightly. "You rise with the Moon. We rise with the sun." Zuko says to the unconscious girl as Rin joins his side with the Avatar in hand.

* * *

The prow of a Fire Nation Navy ship dropping its bowsprit, using it to slice open the Water City's main wall to allow entrance. The bowsprit is used as a bridge by Fire Nation troops entering the city one after another. "The Water Tribe can try to resist the inevitable but their city will fall today," Zhao vows to Iroh as they look towards the Water Tribe City at the hands of the Fire Nation.

* * *

Katara emerges from her involuntary nap, her eyes open suddenly, and she gets to her knees with a start. She looks to see Aang, Zuko and Rin are gone from the Chamber, as Momo chitters running around. "Aang!" Katara calls out to the young Airbender as Appa lands with Sokka and Yue sitting in the saddle, they move to hop down from Appa.

"What happened? Where's Zuko and Rin?" Sokka asks his distraught little sister.

"They took Aang. They took him right out from under me." Katara answers him sadly.

"Where did they go?" Sokka asks her as Momo looks back at them from his perch on the side of the pond.

* * *

Upon the surface of the massive glacier above the protected valley of the sanctuary, it snows hard while Zuko and Rin struggle through the storm, as Zuko, carries Aang, whose marking still glow white and disappear into the snow.


	13. AN: Please Read

_I was thinking once I finished the chapter that the first book would be really short so, I was wondering if you'd like some short chapters consisting of flashbacks in Rin's past. The choice is up to you so comment on the three out of the choices or your own of what you would like to know and I'll start writing once the last chapter is done, but I will be starting the next book 'Avatar: Last Airbender - Fugitive Rin (Earth)' at the same time._

Rin being left on the doorstep of the Yuu's

Rin spending time with her adopted Mother

Rin training with her adopted Father

Rin creating a purple flame for the first time and her adopted parents reaction

The death of her adopted Mother

The death of her adopted Father

Rin joining the Fire Nation army

Her meeting Zhao for the first time

Her first impression and thoughts on Prince Zuko

Being assigned to watch over Zuko by the Fire Lord

Rin finding out she's adopted and her reaction


	14. The Siege of The End Part 2

_"Water... Earth... Fire... Air…" Katara voices over as the benders demonstrate as she talks. "My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of peace when the Avatar kept the balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked." It journeys into the map showing the world and closes in on a bender displaying all the elements. "Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless firebenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished." He disappears from sight. "A hundred years have passed and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe." It shows the Water Tribe men on their boats and Katara hugging her older brother Sokka holding up a lantern. "Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle is broken, but I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow the Avatar will return to save the world."_

 **The Siege of The End Part 2**

Four massive fireballs arcing over the Water City walls into the city, it is now daylight and the battle for the survival or decimation of the Northern Water Tribe has begun in solemn. Behind the Citadel the four fireballs land at various points within the Water City exploding causing damage everywhere it touched.

* * *

While that was going on in the Sanctuary, where Appa and the others are and the black and white koi fish circle each other in the pond as Katara kneels there looking at them. "I can't believe I lost him," Katara says sadly, feeling disappointed in herself for losing Aang to the two Fire Nation teens.

"You did everything you could and now we need to do everything we can to get him back." Sokka tries to console his sister before he leads Yue over to Appa. Katara turns to look at her older brother with tears brimming over her ocean blue eyes. "Zuko and Rin can't have gotten far. We'll find them. Aang's gonna be fine." He tells her.

"Okay." She replies feeling better after what he said and gets up from the ground and walks by Momo, who looks out over the pond. Momo chitters softly and sadly as Katara now standing atop Appa with Sokka at the reigns and Yue beside the young Water Tribe girl. "It's all right. You stay here, Momo, in case Aang comes back." She tells him even though she knew the likelihood of that happening were zero.

"Yip! Yip!" Sokka says and Appa launches himself into the air out of the Sanctuary into the frozen, snowing wasteland above that Zuko, Rin and Aang where.

* * *

Appa flies over the high ice dunes, the snow coming down heavy from the dark, cold grey sky above them in the search of their friend and the two that had taken him from them.

* * *

Somewhere in the ice cold tundra, a long trail in the snow going to the horizon leading to Zuko and Rin as they feel trampling through the drifting snow. Zuko still carrying the unconscious young Avatar with his feet dragging behind him, but his tattoo arrow on his head still glowing white as the two teens make their way through the heavy snowfall.

* * *

Aang in the Spirit World sitting cross-legged on a platform in the middle of a bamboo swamp, in a meditative pose as his eyes open. Aang sits on the platform amidst the swamp a white bird flies by in an instant and he gets up then runs off the platform looking around the swamp. Behind him is a small island, a temple-like structure, like the one behind the pond in the Water Tribe Sanctuary, but thicker and cruder, rests on top of the small island. Underneath the crossbar of the structure, a figure sits there cross-legged and Aang hears the chanting then runs in the direction towards the figure to see a human size white-haired Monkey as it meditates, wearing a brown monk's shawl. "Hellow? I'm sorry to disturb you, but I just really need to find the Moon and the Ocean Spirits." Aang informs the Mystical Monkey in front of him.

"Go… away." The Mystical Monkey replies without opening his eyes at Aang, he then pauses for a moment and opens one eye at Aang. "You're still here?" He asks the young Avatar.

"Yes! I need -" Aang tries saying but gets cut off by the Monkey chanting again seeming to concentrate as he shuts his eyes tightly when a small blue ball of light enters from Aang's left, emitting a slight crystalline noise.

"Perhaps that thing will help you? Chase it!" The Mystical Monkey tells the young Avatar trying to get rid of him and he runs after it. The Mystical Monkey keeps his eyes shut for a second more, then opens one to confirm of Aang's departure and shakes his head. "Finally!" He sighs.

Aang chases after the small blue ball of light through the swamp even up a tree and out onto a large branch when he catches it, a huge smile on his face. As he does, the tree branch liquefies underneath him and he falls, screaming out to the water below landing with a splash. As he lies in the shallow water the small blue ball of light gets away from him floating in the air. "Come back!" Aang calls out to the small blue ball of light as it floats away from him while he gets to his feet. He moves to follow the small blue ball of light but stops to look at the water as the ripples from the splash dissipate as image forms where his own reflection should be but it revealed Avatar Roku.

"Hello, Aang." Avatar Roku greets his young predecessor.

"Roku!" Aang exclaims seeing the Avatar before him.

* * *

Zuko carries Aang with Rin trudging through the now next to him, after some steps, the ice underneath them begins to crack, it caves in on them. Within a few seconds, most of the ground around them is collapsing, they begin to run with Aang still on Zuko's back, they somehow manage to keep just ahead of the yawning hole that their footsteps over thin ice have caused to appear. The hole finally stops expanding as Zuko trips and falls down, the boys are now on the lip of a newly formed canyon, he looks ahead to see a rock ledge overhanging a small cave and turns around to Rin. "Shelter!" He yells out to her, she slowly walks over to him trying to make it through the snow over. They go inside the cave as Zuko drags Aang inside by his collar as the blizzard continues on outside and dumps the Avatar at the back of the cave tying his hands behind his back with some of the rope he is carrying. Rin walks up to Zuko shivering looking down at the ground as she makes her way, he turns around to face her, seeing her shiver and takes her into his arms as they share body heat. "We'll be home soon," Zuko promises her whispering in her ear as she holds onto him as if she could feel something bad was about to happen as she looks at the Avatar with his tattoo aglow.

* * *

In the Spirit, World Aang looks down at the reflection in the water if the Spirit World swamp. "Roku, the Water Tribe is under attack. I need to find the Ocean and Moon Spirits!" Aang tells him as he looks at the water when suddenly, maroon coloured water fountains up and solidifies into the shape of Avatar Roku.

"The Ocean and the Moon are ancient Spirits. They crossed over from the Spirit World to the Mortal World very near the beginning. There are only two Spirits I know of who are old enough to remember." Avatar Roku informs the young Avatar.

"Who?" Aang asks him.

"The Spirits names are Koh and Chava. But Koh is very dangerous and Chava is unpredictable. They call Chava… the Mother Spirit and they call Koh… the Face Stealer." Avatar Roku informs the young Avatar warning him as Aang looks shocked and frightened at this information. "When you speak with either of them you must be careful to show no emotion at all - not the slightest expression or Koh will steal your face!" Avatar Roku warns his predecessor of what could happen not daring to tell him of what Chava could do considering she was watching over everything. This still forces the fear from Aang's face despite his words and nods to Roku stoically as if this would maybe help but didn't question his elder on why he hadn't told him about why he should be careful of the Spirit of Life.

* * *

In the frozen wastes where the blizzard still rages on as Appa slams deep into the snow rumbling. Sokka looks out over the canyon that was created by Zuko, Rin and Aang's passage and turns around to look at Katara, her eyes wide with concern and fear for her friend lowering her face, fearing the worst.

* * *

In the canyon below their feet, Zuko blows fire into his hands to keep warm as Rin leans on his arm, her eyes closed as she seems to have fallen asleep when he looks over at Aang. "We finally have you. But we can't get you home because of this blizzard." Zuko groans to himself moving Rin to lie on the ground as he walks over to the cave entrance to look out at the heavy falling snow. "There's always something. Not that you would understand. You're like my sister. Everything always...came easy to her. She's a Firebending prodigy like Rin - and everyone adores her again like Rin." He rants a little feeling that if he tells someone even if they can't hear him will lighten the weight on his shoulders, but he was unaware that Rin was listening to him. "My father says she was born lucky. He says I was lucky to be born." At this Rin crawls over on her hands and knees over to the lonely Prince to put her arms around his shoulder in comfort to tell him she was there for him. "I don't need luck though, I don't want it. I've always had to struggle and fight and that's made me strong. It's made me who I am." He says and RIn looks into his eyes, she begins to lean in closer and he too leans in, their lips almost touching.

* * *

The Fire Nation assault on the city continues as a line of Fire Navy ships abuts the outer wall, they launch more fireballs deep into the unoccupied portions of the city. The Water Tribe still holds one of the towers in the foreground, but it is clear the defenders are losing the battle though they keep on fighting with all their will. A couple Fire Nation war rhinoceros each with small catapults on either side of their saddles, one after the other the soldiers are on the rhinoceros firing their catapults.

In the middle of the Water Tribe City where the secondary wall still holds, a thin moat of water in front of it for defence. The defenders are few in numbers, however, a deadly rain of fireballs enter, spreading destruction deep inside the city, as rank upon rank of Fire Nation tanks, firing as they advance towards the secondary wall.

The defenders on that secondary wall rally atop, where a line of Waterbenders returns fire, well water, right under the top of the wall is a line of portholes through which water pours into the moat below them. The Waterbenders motion in unison and the gentle streams become mighty jets of water, two of the tanks are washed away, but several others behind them fire massive grappling hooks into the secondary wall. The hooks penetrate the wall clear through to the other side as the Waterbenders scatter, the tanks with their grappling hooks then begin to reel back on the lines. The tanks are anchored into the ice preventing the tanks from just hauling itself to the wall as it cracks slowly, then gives way as more fireballs fly overhead and a huge breach has been opened, revealing a war rhinoceros and other infantry ready to pour through.

Three more tanks are on the left pull down large sections of the secondary wall with space in between the primary and secondary walls now brimming with Fire Nation soldiers, tanks and rhinoceroses. Numerous fireballs have landed in the residential area section beyond that and in parts of the city are now on fire.

* * *

The ornate prow of Zhao's flagship and the other surrounding vessels over watching the carnage of the Water Tribe City in front of them, Iroh and Zhao stand on the bridge's observation deck. "I don't need to remind you we have a time limit. If we don't defeat the Water Tribe before the full moon rises they will be undefeatable." Iroh warns the pompous Admiral.

"I assure you I have everything under control. I intend to remove the moon as a factor." Zhao replies sinisterly with an evil smile.

"Remove the moon! How?" Iroh asks him in disbelief as a soldier enters from behind, spear in his hand.

"Admiral Choi!" Hahn war cries taking off his helmet-throwing it aside. "Prepare to meet your fate!" He rushes forward to Zhao, who casually throws him overboard as if it were nothing, Hahn screams as he falls then a loud splash is heard. Iroh looks down over the side shaking his head at the actions of both men and turns back to Zhao.

"As I was saying...years ago I stumbled upon a great and powerful secret...the identity of the Moon Spirit's mortal form," Zhao informs the former General as if the pathetic assassination attempt on his life had never happened.

"What?" Iroh exclaims looking at the Admiral in shock, it was unheard of, what he was talking about was so evil. Pure evil and insane. Zhao closes his eyes, with a cruel smile on his lips as he remembers the memory of what he had found at the time. "I was a young Lieutenant serving under General Shu in the Earth Kingdom..." He begins explaining, remembering. "I discovered a hidden library, underground in fact. I tore through scroll after scroll. One of them contained a detailed illustration and the words 'moon' and 'ocean'. I knew then that these Spirits could be found...and killed. And that it was my destiny to do so."

"Zhao, the Spirits are not to be trifled with!" Iroh warns the Admiral with a hint of anger in his voice at the insane things he was saying.

"Yes, yes, I know you fear the Spirits, Iroh. I've heard rumours about your journey into the Spirit World. But the Ocean and Moon gave up their immortality to become a part of our world and now they will face the consequences!" Zhao rants as they watch over the assault on the Water Tribe city.

* * *

Back in the Spirit World, Aang hops across the top of a line of wooden pylons on his way to a huge gnarled tree in the background. The tree is partially silhouetted by a light source behind it that is too dim to be the sun, but too bright to be the moon. Aang stops as a monstrous coyote or other dog-like creature passes behind the tree, he approaches the hole fearfully then a monkey's screech is heard from a monkey sitting on the root of the street looking away. "Oh! Whew! You're just a curly tailed blue nose." Aang comments with relief till the monkey turns around to reveal that it has no face. Aang is startled in fright, then drops all emotions from his face taking a deep breath to calm himself down. "Show no fear. Show no emotion at all." He reminds himself as he walks into the hole, behind him is a glowing woman with long blond hair and purple eyes, an evil glint in her eyes with a sinister smirk across her purple lips.

"Wrong choice, Young Avatar." She remarks turning around to see Avatar Roku behind her and she just walks past him.

"Chava." Avatar Roku greets her not looking her in the eye as she passes him.

"Roku, I heard you talked to my beloved." She comments, this at first confuses him but then he understood. Jeong Jeong. But before he can say anything, she disappears into a purple mist surrounding her body.

* * *

Koh's tree silhouetted against the unseen backlight as Aang descends the staircase into Koh's lair below. The lair opening is still seen above, light pouring in through it, while the lair is dark, though not pitch black as roots stick out from the ceiling, no creature stirs. "Hello? I'm looking for a Spirit named 'Koh'." Aang calls out to him as he says the Spirit's name, some of the so-called roots on the ceiling begin to move, Aang looks around, sensing the movement, but sees nothing. A moment later a white face appears, with grey patches around its eyes and luscious, blood red lips, vaguely the face resembles a clown. The red lips smile while Aang keeps his face emotionless, he seems prepared, suddenly, a huge cockroach-like body arcs around Aang. It appears in front of his face, the white, clown-like face of Koh inches away from Aang, around the Spirit's face are eight legs that are attached to a centipede-like body.

"Welcome!" Koh rasps out trying to spook the young Avatar but Aang's face remains emotionless. The monster hangs from the ceiling in front of Aang, who bows with his hands clasped in front of him in a gesture of honour.

"Thank you," Aang replies to him as Koh wheels around Aang looking at him from the back, his voice low, melodic, almost purring but his voice oozes danger.

"My old friend, the Avatar. It's been a long time." Koh comments moving around Aang looking at him from all different angles.

"You know me?" Aang asks him, trying to hide his curiosity.

"How could I forget…" He says moving away from Aang and changes his face from the clown mask to a middle-aged moustached man. The change occurs like a blinking effect as if some sort of nictitating eyelid or membrane closing briefly over the old face to reveal a new one. "...you! One of your previous incarnations tired -" He sticks his face right up to Aang's. "- to slay me! It was eight or nine hundred years ago." He rants thinking of the past.

"I didn't know that. Why did he… or I… try to kill you?" Aang asks the creepy Spirit regretting not going to the other one that Roku had suggested.

"Oh…" He again changes his face to that of a beautiful, flowing-haired young woman. "It was something about stealing the face of someone you loved…" He changes his face to the curly tailed blue nose face as Koh begins to laugh cruelly. "Of course, that's all behind us. Why should I hold a grudge against you for something in a past life? After all, you're a different person now." He sticks his fanged, monkey face up to Aang's ear from behind him. "You've come to me… with a new face." Koh says in his strange, eerie voice as Aang closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

* * *

Back in the Mortal World, where Aang's physical body does the same as his Spirit, Zuko and Rin look over at him stopping their kiss in progress. They jump back from each other looking in different directions, Zuko then looks out of the cave. "Guess we'll be here awhile," Rin comments looking at Zuko, he nods his head in agreement before looking down at her, the air thick with the tension of their almost kiss.

* * *

In the sky on Appa the teens fly about, scanning the ground below for any signs of Zuko, Rin and Aang. "Don't worry! Prince Zuko and General Rin can't be getting too far in this weather." Yue says over the blizzard to try and comfort the two siblings.

"I'm not worried they'll get away in the blizzard. I'm worried that they won't." Katara replies.

"They're not gonna die in this blizzard. If we know anything it's that Zuko and Rin never give up. They'll survive - and we'll find them!" Sokka tells them as they continue their search for their young friend.

* * *

Aang interviews with the sinister Face Stealer as he stands on the stairs, Koh wraps his body loosely around him. "It's been a long time since I've added a child's face to my collection," Koh comments as his face is now that of an owl. "So...how may I help you?" He asks as he continuously wraps himself around Aang, making endless circles.

"I need to find the Moon and the Ocean," Aang tells him a matter of fact.

"Their Spirit names are Tui and La. Push...and Pull… and that has been the nature of their relationship for all time." Koh answers him giving him a riddle of an answer.

"Please, help me find them. An entire culture could be destroyed if I don't get their help." Aang argues with him, his face flips to that of an old man.

"Oh, you think you need their help? Actually, it's quite the other way around." Koh remarks and in an instant, Koh turns bolting to Aang, pressing his face within inches of Aang's. Koh's face has changed again from the owl to a blue ogre-like face with red eyes and huge fangs. "Someone's going to kill them!" He raises his voice but Aang's only reaction is that he closes his eyes briefly, then opens them to look at Koh.

"What do you mean? How can I find them and protect them?" Aang asks him.

"You've already met them, actually," Koh answers him flipping back to his white face, he rears himself up, so Aang must look up to see his face. "Tui and La, your Moon and Ocean, have always circled each other in an eternal dance. They balance each other… push and pull… life and death… good and evil… yin… and yang." He tells the seemingly slow Avatar. At the last part, Aang's eyes open wide, as he remembers the white and black koi fish circling each other in the pond and when they turned into a yin and yang symbol just before he entered the Spirit World.

"The Koi fish!" Aang exclaims smiling, Koh, unfortunately, hears the emotion in Aang's voice, appearing instantly with his blue ogre face in front of the Avatar, ready to take his face, but no such luck - Aang's face is once again a model of impassivity. "I must be going now." He tells Koh.

"We'll meet again," Koh says flipping his face to a bald young man but stops as if feeling something strange in the air. "Seems you've met her. The Spirit Child." He comments before receding back into the shadows, Aang unsure of what he means shrugs it off.

Aang later emerges from Koh's lair and looks down at his reflection on the ground. "The Spirits are in trouble. I need to get back to the physical world." He states with Avatar Roku visible on the ground.

"A friend is here to guide you back," Roku tells him as he fades to the panda form of Hei-Bai, the Forest Spirit, Aang recognises him turning with a smile.

"Hei-Bai!" Aang exclaims as Hei-Bai rears up on his hind legs, he gets on all fours and Aang jumps onto his neck and Hei-Bai begins to take Aang back to where he came in.

* * *

Night has fallen on the North Pole, but the Fire Nation assault continues on with intensity, fireballs blasting the residential section in front of the Citadel, which is protected by the third and final wall. The secondary wall has been fully compromised and the Fire Nation troops and their tanks pour through as the Water Tribe citizens run through the smoking streets of their home as tanks smash through everything in their path.

The full moon rising above behind the Fire Nation Navy fleet, as the Waterbenders draw strength from the full moon, they manage an uncoordinated counterattack. A group of Fire Nation soldiers corner a Waterbender on a footbridge over a canal, but the Waterbender breaks the ice bridge sending the soldiers flying. A tank chasing a Waterbender, who turns around melting the ice under the tank making it sink as the Waterbender damages the turret with a powerful jet of water. A line of defenders atop the third and final wall, in unison they fire ice daggers at a line of Fire Nation soldiers below who block them with their shields.

Master Pakku squares off alone against three tanks which are closely supported by three infantry platoons. Exercising his mastery over his art, cutting the treads off all three of the tanks with jets of ice. As he cripples the Fire Nation armour, the infantry close in around him, with a motion he raises them up encasing them all in ice, then musters all his might, he raises a water tornado. Master Pakku rises at the pinnacle of the tornado as he brushes aside both fire bolts and Fire Nation soldiers, he's unstoppable.

Another group of Waterbenders who raise up a tank on a block of ice, throwing it at a group of Fire Nation soldiers on their war rhinoceros. Zhao, with a soldier visible over his right soldier, said soldier gets covered in snow from the impact of the tank that was just thrown, but the guard heats the snow and it melts off him in a cloud of steam. "We'll be following this map to a very special location. And when we get there… we're going fishing." Zhao says with a cruel smile spreading across his face.

* * *

In the Spirit World with Hei-Bai and Aang running straight ahead as they reach the paifang where Aang had entered. "This is where I came in." Aang points, dismounting from the giant panda and jumps onto the platform underneath the paifang. "But how do I get back?" He asks, in response, Hei-Bai rears up on his hind legs and breathes a pulse of blue, spiritual energy out of his mouth at Aang, who freezes, engulfed by the energy and disappears. With the Mystical Monkey on the ground nearby, still meditating, he opens his eyes to see that Aang had finally gone for good.

"Good riddance." The Monkey comments.

"I couldn't agree more," Chava adds startling the Mystical Monkey, who looks up to see the woman beside him, then Hei-Bai, now in his Spirit Monster form, appears beside the grouchy Monkey blows him away with a blast of Spiritual energy. "That was uncalled for, Hei-Bai." She tells him stroking him on the head as he transforms back into his panda form before leaving with Chava.

* * *

Aang makes it back to the Water City Sanctuary, but the blue nimbus around him suggests that he has not yet returned to his body. "Momo!" Aang calls out as he walks over to his little friend, sleeping on the ground but he doesn't stir and looks at his hands. "Momo?" He seems to realise his predicament now. "Oh no! Where's my body?" He exclaims looking around frantically then stops as a small blue ball of energy forms around him lifting him out of the Sanctuary valley out into the wasteland above. Like a comet he arcs over the frozen landscape below, he is seen by Katara as he flies over them.

"Look! That's gotta be Aang!" Katara yells as Sokka flips Appa's reigns to fly following the Spirit comet.

They quickly arrive at the cave where Aang, Zuko and Rin have taken refuge from the blizzard, when the comet enters the cave, briefly illuminating it from inside. Aang, still bound on the cave floor, his tattoo stops glowing and he wakes up, struggling briefly against his bonds, then sits up to face Zuko and Rin. "Welcome back," Zuko comments looking at him keeping a slightly weak Rin as the cold was getting to her.

"Good to be back," Aang replies threateningly, with a mighty breath, he blows the teens against the wall while simultaneously propelling himself out of the cave into the open. He begins to grunt as he moves forward, caterpillar style, along the ground as Zuko chases after him grabbing him by the collar and lifts him up stopping his attempt to escape.

"That won't be enough to escape," Zuko tells him but Appa appears over Zuko's head.

"Appa!" Aang exclaims in joy as he lands down and Zuko drops Aang in the snow as Katara dismounts Appa to face him again.

"Here for a rematch?" Zuko asks the Waterbender assuming a Firebending stance looking quickly at the canyon where Rin was coming out.

"Trust me, Zuko, it's not going to be much of a match," Katara warns him and begins to Waterbend as she blocks a fireball as she finishes her sentence while Sokka and Yue look on from Appa's saddle. She sends a shockwave of ice hurtling towards him when it reaches Zuko, she encases him in a pillar of ice that she raises up high, then drops. Rin walks forward almost in a haze-like state as Zuko falls to the ground unconscious then she reaches Aang, she places a finger on his forehead. Images flash of Chava goes between the two than the two black and white koi fish and white Koi fish and finally Zhao, the images stop, when Rin falls too into unconsciousness and Sokka runs over to Aang cutting his bonds.

"Hey! This is some quality rope!" Sokka comments looking at the unconscious girl beside his friend.

"We need to get to the oasis! The Spirits are in trouble!" Aang warns them trying to shake off the feeling that he got from when Rin had touched his forehead and the images he saw, they gave him a shiver up his spine of the feeling of death. He just brushes it off and gets up running to Appa, Sokka and Aang get onboard, but Aang takes the reigns instead. They are ready to go finally, but Aang stops thinking looking over to the unconscious pair lying in the snow. "Wait, we can't just leave them here." He tells his friends, feeling terrible at what could happen to them out there.

"Sure we can. Let's go." Sokka argues not caring about the two Fire Nation teens.

"No, if we leave them, they'll die," Aang argues back he jumps down off of Appa, grabbing Zuko and RIn bringing them back to Appa struggling with them both.

"Yeah, this makes a lot of sense. Let's bring the people whose constantly try to kill us!" Sooka snaps in frustration and confusion at his friend's actions. But Aang doesn't listen and Appa takes off, out into the sky making their way back to the Water Tribe Sanctuary to save the Moon and Ocean Spirits.

* * *

In the Water Tribe Sanctuary the black and white koi fish circle each other in the pool, a pair of hands reaches out to them. The right one grabs the white koi fish, it struggles, but the hand forces it into a bag held in the left hand, it was Zhao, he stands up holding the bag. The Moon, visible behind him over his left shoulder, colours over a blood red while the fish struggles in the bag.

The blood-red light washes over the back third of the city, the counterattack against the invaders falters as this happens. Master Pakku still riding his water tornado as the blood red light sweeps over him, as it does, his tornado collapses under him. Another Waterbender whose water whip disintegrates as the light changes, in another part of the city, a war rhinoceros is getting washed away, but the force driving the wave vanishes as the light turns red. The soldier on the war rhinoceros is once again able to advance on the Waterbenders who flee in panic as a line of Fire Nation soldiers who fire volley after volley in unison.

* * *

Appa flies through the sky, silhouetted against the now red moon, Yue holds her head and groans as if in pain on Appa's saddle. "Are you okay?" Sokka asks her concerned for her.

"I feel faint," Yue tells him.

"I feel it too," Aang says his hand on his head as well feeling it and looks up. "The Moon Spirit is in trouble." He adds.

"I owe the Moon Spirit my life," Yue tells them.

"What do you mean?" Sokka asks her not sure what she meant.

"When I was born I was very sick and very weak. Most babies cry when they're born… but I was born as if I were asleep. My eyes closed." Yue tells them remembering what her parents had told her of that day. "Our healers did everything they could. They told my mother and father I was going to die. My father pleaded with the Spirit of Life to save me… but Chava would not respond so, that night, beneath the full moon, he brought me to the Oasis and placed me in the pond. My dark hair turned white, I opened my eyes and began to cry - and they knew I would live." She tells them the story she remembered her parents tell her many times. "That's why my mother named me Yue, for the moon." She adds after Aang heard her says about the Spirit of Life, he had thought she would help, he wished he had met her now but he felt like he had seen her, the woman with the blond hair that looked so much like Rin still unconscious on the saddle next to Zuko.

* * *

Underneath the red moon, basking in the light Zhao and his entourage stand by the pond in the Oasis. "I am…" Zhao starts raising his fist to the heavens. "... a legend now! The Fire Nation will for generations tell stories about the great Zhao who darkened the Moon! They will call me Zhao the Conqueror! Zhao the Moon Slayer! ZHAO THE INVINCIBLE!" He rants on at this moment Momo jumps onto Zhao's head ruining his little speech of crazy and starts pulling at his face chittering. "Huh! Get it off!" He yells just as the guards surround Zhao to help him, Momo flies off who lands on an outstretched arm which belongs to Aang. Appa has landed with the teens squaring off against Zhao and his men in the Sanctuary, they ready their weapons on both sides. "Don't bother!" He yells as he holds a knife to the bag with the Moon Spirit inside this causes Aang to drop his staff raising his hands in surrender.

"Zhao! Don't!" Aang warns him trying to remain calm.

"It's my destiny… to destroy the Moon… and the Water Tribe." Zhao announces seeming to be far on the crazy train.

"Destroying the moon won't just hurt the Water Tribe. It will hurt everyone - including you. Without the moon, everything would fall out of balance. You have no idea what kind of chaos that would unleash on the world." Aang calmly warns him trying to keep him from harming or worse killing the Spirit.

"He is right, Zhao!" Iroh adds making himself known, the three males are in a triangle around the pond.

"General Iroh, why am I not surprised to discover your treachery?" Zhao asks him rhetorically in a bored, lecturing tone that he had no right to give as Iroh lowers his hood.

"I'm no traitor, Zhao, the Fire Nation needs the moon too. We all depend on the balance." Iroh retorts, but Zhao still holds the weapon to the bag, then Iroh points a finger at Zhao. "Whatever you do to that Spirit I'll unleash on you ten-fold!" He thunders assuming a Firebending stance. "LET IT GO, NOW!" He orders him with such authority in his voice as their eyes lock for a moment, then Zhao seems to falter, lowering the bag. He kneels down releasing the koi fish back into the water and the red light of the moon vanishes, replaced by its normal colour. Zhao's face which is quickly overtaken by a look of madness and desperation with a cry of rage he stands smites the water with a blast of fire. The fire blast passes Iroh, who recoils in horror, Aang and Momo's face briefly get illuminated by the fire, the Avatar looks up to witness the moon wink out of existence.

Iroh springs instantly to the attack, crossing the footbridge, Iroh fires blast after blast at Zhao who blocks one blast and backs away while Iroh expertly dispatches Zhao's four guards. Zhao looks on in horror as his men are wiped out by the ageing former General with such ease and precision and see flashes of a similar event but it wasn't Iroh in front of him, it was Rin as a child taking down grown men from the Earth Kingdom, with utter fear and terror he flees.

Iroh stands over the guards who struggle to get back up, then at the pond where the black koi fish swims frantically and the white koi fish, had a huge gash in its side, floating in the water. Iroh gently lifts the white koi fish from the water, an expression of sadness washes over his face and the guards are now gone. "There's no hope now. It's over." Yue cries out on the verge of tears, as Sokka places his hand on her shoulder. Aang too has a look of sadness on his face but it soon turns to determination as his eyes and tattoos glow white and his Avatar Spirit speaks through his mouth.

"No, it's not over," Aang announces with a deep and other-worldly voice. Aang walks forward into the pond, Katara moves to follow him but is stopped by a motion to halt from Iroh. The others watch Aang, standing in the middle of the pond, arms in prayer and looks down at the black koi fish, whose eyes and white mark on his spine begin to glow white. Aang's feet in the pond in the pond now glow bright white, then he drops into the pond as if the bottom had fallen out from under him and he disappears.

In the Oasis, the water in the pond around it begins to glow a deep blue veined with white, as the effect spreads, to behind the Citadel area of the city. The four who look with wonder at the awesome power coming to life before them, a huge, incandescent blue wave rushes under the footbridge as if some huge creature were moving underneath it. Appa stands on the Oasis, but he is dwarfed by the creature that rises from the pool, the Citadel and the city visible beyond it.

* * *

The blue, white veined creature is a huge fish like being, at its centre is a blue-white bubble in which you can see Aang, who spreads his arms wide. A moment later, the Ocean Spirit, for this is true, he in communion with the Avatar, duplicates the motion. Fire Nation soldiers who stand in front of the last wall, the Ocean Spirit towers over the Citadel, it's arms still spread wide, it's blue Spirit lighting the city like a beacon. The Spirit begins to move down into the city, Master Pakku and his waterbenders instantly bow to the floor in honour of their god. Across the canal, some Fire Nation soldiers raise their spears in defiance but get swept away by a wall of water sent by the Ocean Spirit. Aang inside the body of the Ocean Spirit, flailing his arms about, directing the power of the Ocean Spirit against the violators of the Moon Spirit and the Water Tribe City.

Fire Nation tanks fire blasts of the fire at the Ocean Spirit, but they are absorbed with no effect, the soldiers and tanks are washed away as if they were toys. The Ocean Spirit passes by the Water Tribe citizens who make obeisance to their Lord while the Fire Nation army is in full retreat, trying desperately to escape the vengeance of a living Spirit. The Ocean Spirit reaches the main canal in front of the third wall and melts into it.

* * *

Zhao runs over a footbridge somewhere in the city as he exits onto a parapet but stops as he is almost hit by a blast of fire that hits the wall in front of him. As the smoke clears, Zhao looks up to see Zuko on the wall behind him on the tier up above him but Rin is nowhere to be seen. "You're alive?" Zhao asks in shock hoping that Rin was not somewhere in wait still alive as she would be out for blood. His.

"You tried to have me and Rin killed!" Zuko yells out accusingly then launches a few fire blasts at Zhao with a cry of anguish, but his target dodges, rolling along the parapet wall.

"Yes, I did. You're the Blue and Purple Spirit - an enemy of the Fire Nation!" He confesses as Zuko walks through the smoke as they face each other. Between them is the panorama of the city, the Ocean Spirit's essence travels down the main canal in the background. "You freed the Avatar!" He adds on.

"I had no choice!" Zuko argues continuing his attack firing volley after volley at Zhao, who breaks them with his hands held together in a wedge in front of him. As the blasts subside, Zhao drops his smoking cloak to the ground.

"You should have chosen to accept your failure - your disgrace! Then, at least you could have lived!" Zhao exclaims in anger returning fire. They trade volleys as the fight rages back and forth in the darkness, at one point Zuko is able to exploit a moment when Zhao leaves his chest unguarded. Zuko blasts him once more and this final hit makes Zhao falls off the parapet wall onto the tier below.

* * *

In the Sanctuary, Iroh places the dead Moon Spirit koi fish back into the pond, then Katara and Iroh look with concern into the pond. "It's too late. It's dead." Katara states as Yue, Iroh and Katara mourn the passing of the Moon Spirit when suddenly, they all hear a yawn from atop Appa's saddle to see Rin getting up. She looks at them all confused, then up to see that the moon is not there and jumps down from Appa over to Iroh.

"What's going on?" Rin asks the older man.

"The Moon Spirit was killed by Zhao and the Avatar has gone," Iroh answers her, she looks at the black koi fish before kneeling down slowly, this shocks everyone but Iroh as she places her right hand into the water towards the black koi fish. The fish seems drawn to her, nipping at her, Iroh watches her remembering over the last three years he had learnt that she too had a strong connection to the Spirits, and with that thought, he looks up at Yue in wonder. "You have been touched by the Moon Spirit. Some of its life is in you." He states in astonishment,

"Yes, you're right. It gave me life. Maybe I can give it back." Yue says looking up, she slowly gets up and goes over to the pond's edge next to Rin, who looks over her shoulder at her, before moving to stand next to Iroh.

"No! You don't have to do that!" Sokka argues reaching for her.

"It's my duty, Sokka," Yue argues holding his hand behind her, but looks down scared that if she looked at him, she would not go through with it.

"I won't let you! Your father told me to protect you!" He tells her clasping their hands together as if that would hold her in place.

"I have to do this," Yue says simply looking up at him as she slowly releases his hand. She walks over to Iroh, who still holds the dead koi fish in his hands, she puts her palms over the Moon Spirit which begins to glow. She closes her eyes for the last time in the Mortal world, exhales a final breath, and falls back over into Sokka's waiting arms.

"NO!" Sokka screams in despair placing his hands on her cheek and looks away from her body. "She's gone." He says softly hugging her body tightly. "She's gone." He repeats.

* * *

The outer wall where the Fire Nation Navy ships try desperately to flee from the vengeful Ocean Spirit. The bowsprits raise quickly as the ships back out as the incandescent blue of the Ocean Spirit flows out past the city wall in front of the Fire Nation Navy fleet. The Ocean Spirit reforms and, towering over the fleet, reaches out, pushing two ships back out to sea at amazing speed. Aang in the bubble making a slicing motion with his arms and the Ocean Spirit makes the same slicing motion making a razor cut through the bridge tower of Zhao's flagship. The cut section slides down to the foredeck and the ship's forward trebuchet is wrecked as the Ocean Spirit stands over the fleet. The Ocean Spirit raises its arms, forming a huge wave which upends many vessels and pushes the rest far out to sea.

* * *

In the Sanctuary Sokka still, cradles Yue's inert form when her body glows briefly and disappears into his arms. The dead koi fish in Iroh's glows too and he drops the fish back into the water and begins to swim again in the pond. The pond glows white as they look on and a ghostly rise from it, it coalesces into Yue's form, but she is dressed all in white and her hair floats around her. She addresses, Sokka, her voice now echoes and comes off as otherworldly. "Goodbye, Sokka. I will always be with you." Yue now the Moon Spirit promises him. She kisses him, their hands on each other's face till she fades away, but in the sky, the moon shines brightly.

* * *

The Ocean Spirit stands at the city walls looking up to see the moon alive once again and instantly, Aang begins to wilt inside the creature, which dissipates into the ocean. The Spirit's essence flows back to the wall and deposits Aang atop it, there his glow leaves him as he puts his hand to the side of his head, spent the effort.

* * *

Zuko and Zhao continue to battle on a footbridge over a canal, they trade blows, but a series of direct hits from Zuko lays the mad Admiral flat. As Zhao tries to get back up, he sees the moon over Zuko's shoulder and looks at it in horror. "It can't be!" Zhao exclaims in horror. The essence of the Ocean Spirit approaches fast and coalesces around the bridge, it grabs hold of Zhao and begins to pull him off the bridge, he struggles to try get loose as Zuko reaches out for him.

"Take my hand!" Zuko yells out to him and Zhao tries to reach for his hand for a moment, but then draws back, an expression of hate on his face. The Ocean Spirit frags Zhao away under the water and disappears from sight forever.

* * *

In the morning the Water Tribe City is heavily damaged from the Citadel onwards as several figures survey the scene from below, Master Pakku stands in front of Katara. "I've decided to go to the South Pole. Some other benders and healers want to join me." Master Pakku informs her turning to face her. "It's time we helped rebuild our sister tribe."

"What about Aang?" Katara asks him as they look at Aang and Momo in the background. "He still needs to learn Waterbending." She reminds him.

"Well, then he better get used to calling you 'Master Katara'" He tells her turning to her with satisfaction.

Sokka and Chief Arnook look out over the city. "The Spirits gave me a vision when Yue was born. I saw… a beautiful, brave young woman...become the Moon Spirit." Chief Arnook closes his eyes as it was too painful. "I knew this day would come." He says.

"You must be proud." Sokka comments.

"So proud. And sad." Chief Arnook adds as they look up to the moon, still visible in the morning sky.

* * *

Among the wreckage of the Fire Nation Navy ships destroyed in the battle, among the sunken shifts a small rafts sails with Zuko, Rin and Iroh aboard. "I'm surprised, Prince Zuko, surprised that you are not at this moment trying to capture the Avatar," Iroh comments as he sorts out some rope.

"I'm tired. We're both tired." Zuko replies looking down at the sleeping Rin, whose head was laying on his lap.

"Then you should rest. A man needs his rest." Iroh tells him putting a hand on his nephew's shoulder and stands as Zuko moves Rin's head from his lap to lay down next to her. Zuko looks up at the sky, with a look of pain on his face before looking at Rin next to him then closes his eyes.

* * *

Aang looks out over the Water Tribe City with Katara behind him, he turns around and they look at each other for a moment. They come together hugging fiercely when a chittering sound is heard and Katara looks down to see Momo looking up at them. "You too, Momo," Katara says overjoyed at the outcome but was sad that Yue was gone.

"Come here," Aang tells him extending a forearm towards him laughing. Momo jumps up to him and Sokka comes over putting his arm on Aang's shoulder. The four of them look over the Water Tribe City, with a rumble, Appa rises from below, floating patiently, awaiting his comrades so they can depart as the course of the events pushes them all ever onward to their destinies.

* * *

In the Fire Nation throne room of the Fire Lord himself, he sits on his throne as a silhouette by the flames that wreath his dais. Before him kneels a cruel looking teenage girl in a Fire Nation military uniform and a cloak, it was Azula, Zuko's younger sister. "Iroh is a traitor and your brother Zuko is a failure as for General Rin is to be taken back." Fire Lord Ozai informs his daughter as she looks up at her father with a smile at first till he mentioned Rin, who she hated for being the ultimate Firebending Prodigy. "I have a task for you…" He adds on.

* * *

On the sea the three Fire Nation natives still on they're little makeshift raft, the two teens are awake, not aware of the other till, Zuko rolls over to see Rin staring up at the sky. "Zuko, can I ask you something?" She asks in a whisper, he just nods afraid to speak as after their almost kiss they were awkward around one another and couldn't look at each other in the eye. "Did you want to kiss me?" She asks him afraid of waking Iroh and of the answer.

"Yes, I have for some time now." He answers honestly, he had caught himself stealing looks at her plump pink lips.

"I see, I never realised that I was falling for you, till we almost died." She confesses and turns to face him, she looks into his eyes and like gravity, they lean in slowly till their lips meet in the middle. It was like time had stopped for them as their lips moved in sync, eyes closed as time continued on around them, they seemed lost to the outside world and in their own little bubble. They sometime later came up for air, they opened their eyes looking at each other, it was silent for a moment.

"Can I ask you something?" Zuko asks her, his cheeks growing warm but she was still trying to catch her breath from their long kiss. "I want to be by your side for a long time to come." He tells her then turns around in embarrassment, this catches Rin off guard almost before she smiles to herself, and moves closer to Zuko hugging his from behind.

"I'd love to stay by your side for a long time to come too." She replies placing a soft kiss on his scarred cheek, both unaware that Iroh had heard what the last part.

* * *

 **THE END…**

 **NEXT BOOK IS AVATAR LAST AIRBENDER: FUGITIVE RIN (EARTH)**

 **I have to say thank you to everyone who has read my story, I'm so happy for the comments you gave me they helped to encourage me to write along with how many of you have hearted or favourited my story. I hope you all love my next book but don't worry I will be doing the three top memories you ask for which you will find out soon.**


	15. Mummy's Favourite Colour

**Mummy's Favourite Colour**

Rin's POV:

I've been stuck on this rotten heap of metal with my faithful crew, a grumpy Prince and a wise Former General for the last year now and I feel like throwing the Prince overboard. I know at this point the men would all cheer if I did, but I stop myself from doing this every time as I swore to protect the Prince from any harm to Iroh at the beginning of our journey. I sit in my office looking over charts of all the places Prince Zuko orders us to venture to, non have been successful so far but the Prince still holds hope that he will restore his honour by capturing the Avatar.

My thoughts are interrupted by a knock on the door, I look up as they enter to reveal Lieutenant Jee seeming irritated at something, it's normally the Prince. "What's he done now?" I ask him before he can even open his mouth.

"He wanted to train his Firebending, a soldier offered and he… well injured him." Jee informs me and I knew I was in for Iroh coming to his nephew's defence while the angry Prince would just argue for who knows how long that it was not his fault.

"I see, is he with the Doctor now?" I ask him, following protocol and he nods to confirm he was, now I had to go talk to the injured soldier and finally the Prince. Was I ever going to have a quiet day where I don't have to deal with Prince Zuko at all and just write my reports to send back home to the Fire Nation for the Fire Lord, no that was never going to happen.

* * *

I finish talking to the injured soldier, who said that Zuko had gotten frustrated at him for one reason or another, I couldn't always take everything my crew tell me for their dislike for the brash Prince didn't make it seem fair. I have to talk to all present at the time, they can never lie to me because I can tell. I walk onto the deck to see Prince Zuko looking like he was sulking with his Uncle trying to cheer him up to no avail. "Prince Zuko, want to tell me what occurred earlier?" I ask him with a stern voice, he seems hesitant at first but explains that it was an accident as he had gotten frustrated over not getting the set his Uncle was teaching him. It was understandable considering his sister was one of the top Firebending Prodigies beside myself and I did feel sorry for him, he struggled because of all his pent-up anger and frustration. "I see. Let's me show you the set." I tell him and show him how it should look (ignore the Earthbending), for me this was child's play having done this when I was only four years old just before I joined the Fire Nation Army.

I turn to look at the Prince to see that he is annoyed, but I just walk over to him and instruct him how I was taught by my Father.

* * *

Later that night at dinner, I finished my usual bath and head into the dining hall to see everyone crowding around one of the soldiers as he tells them of his first experience with fire. I remembered mine well, but the colour was something even I knew nothing about as it scared me to ever use it but my parents they were amazing. "Hey General, when did you create your first flame?" One of my soldiers asks as I sit down in my chair near them.

"I think I was three years old, it…" I begin to tell my story. as they crowd around me to listen to my tale.

* * *

 _...was when I lived in the Fire Nation capital, the large city where our home sat and it was just my parents Jou and Sai Yuu and I till I turned 10 years old when I left the capital for the permanent residence on the battlefield._

 _It was a normal day in the Yuu household we all sat in the living room, My father was making battle plans, my mother was making a new doll for me to play with (that I never did) and I was watching my father. It was usual for me to watch him as even then I was interested in the planning of battle and Firebending, my parents were never sure if I was going to Firebend as the reason for it was that my mother didn't. I didn't find out that I was adopted till just after my mother died._

 _All of a sudden I sneezed loudly, sparks erupted from my mouth which startled all of us at first then my father yelled out. "Sai! Get some water!" I had set alight the map in front of me. It wasn't the usual colour of orange but purple a light purple like the colour my mother loved saying that it represented the Yuu family. Nobility. Luxury. Power. Ambition. Wealth. Wisdom. Peace. Pride. Devotion. Independence. Those I were taught over the years made up the Yuu family, we were a high ranking family that mother said craved power because all the men were made General at young ages and never failed in battle. My life at home had now changed forever. Because I had just shown I could Firebend._

 _"I'm sorry Daddy!" I whaled crying to apologize loudly, my mother tries calming me down but it was no use, I was too far gone making the fire rage on with my crying. Eventually, I calmed down and the fire too stops, I run over to my mother hugging her for dear life as my father looks at the place the maps used to be._

 _"Look at the firepower." My father commented looking down at the maps that were turned to ash within seconds and the fire continued to burn till I stopped crying in astonishment._

 _"I'm sorry, Daddy. I didn't mean to." I mumbled thinking I was going to get into trouble or shouted at by my stern father, but all he did was laugh._

 _"That's okay Dragon. I'm proud of you." He told me messing up my hair making my mother grumpy as she was a perfectionist._

 _"Rin, why that colour?" Mother asked me, I wasn't sure myself at the time why it was that colour, even now I still have no clue as to why my flames are purple._

 _"Cause it's mummy's favourite colour," I replied giving her a big grin, she picks me up into her arms hugging me tightly to her body then my father took me from her arms throwing me into the air. I giggled as he threw me into the air with a massive grin on his face, he seemed excited about this accident I had caused. "Daddy, I'm scared," I told him looking down, he seemed to sober up at this point and hugs me close to him, he could see the fear settle in on my face._

 _"I understand Dragon, I was the same when I had my first flame, I burn my favourite soldier set," Father told me and I saw that he was telling the truth and I look at his hands as they held me. My father seemed to understand why I was looking at his large hands and created a flame of blue fire in his hand showing me that it was something not to be afraid of, it was a light in the darkness._

 _I looked into the blue flame with fascination that it wasn't like the other people I had seen, he said that it was known for powerful Firebenders to have blue flames and he wanted me to show my power with pride. I tried to make a flame like my father and after some time I was able to create a small flame, my mother wanted to touch it at first being her favourite colour but father said we were not sure how much hotter my flames were to that of the others._

 _It was nighttime and my parents tucked me into my bed I looked up at them holding their hands tightly in my small hands. They looked down at me smiling lovingly when I take my hand from my father's to create a flame in my hand like he had earlier. This created havoc as my father was talking about putting me into the Fire Nation Academy early and my mother was telling him that was never going to happen. I was now known as the youngest Firebending Prodigy..._

* * *

"...after that, I think I was training with my father at my mother's request and I did join the army quite young." I finish the story looking to my crew and Iroh to see that they were shocked. It must have been the mention of the purple flames as even though I was known for them I had stated that it was from the start it was purple, this was unheard of.

"General Rin, there's a messenger hawk for you." The soldier announces, cutting the atmosphere and I take my leave to see Prince Zuko standing in the hallway, he most likely heard the whole story. I walk past him making a brief eye contact as we pass one another and I turn the corner to my office and spent the rest of the night till I went to bed writing reports and dreamed of my loving parents.

 **A/N: This was Memory Number 4 - Rin creating a purple flame for the first time and her Parents reaction. Hope you liked it please comment and the next one is coming up next.**


	16. Don't Blush!

**Don't Blush!**

Rin's POV:

I walk down the steps onto the deck below to see that some of the men were crowding around Zuko and another crew member as they trained. I shake my head in slight disappointment at their action, when I look around to see where Iroh was but could not find him. I make a step towards them then I stop, thinking about the time when I first met Zuko and how different he was now to when I had first met him...

* * *

 _I awoke from my bunk in the Earth Kingdom, I was awoken by one of my soldiers and I looked at him in slight confusion at first but then I knew it was time for battle. I got up from my bed in my nightgown, this caused the soldier to snap around and run out of my tent as I tied up hair up into my usual low ponytails and got dressed into my armour._

 _I walked out onto the battlefield to see soldiers readying for any attack from the Earthbenders when I got stopped by another soldier with a message in hand. I opened it up to read and it was from Fire Lord Ozai that I was to return to the Fire Nation for a General's only war meeting, considering I was made General at 12 which broke every record in the Yuu family._

 _I heard a war cry from an Earth Kingdom soldier before he gets close enough, I swipe my scythe towards him, knocking him to the side. "Men, let's wrap this up!" I shouted out to the soldiers making sure that we can go home, but before any of the men can move a large wave of earth comes towards us. In a split second, I ran towards it hearing the protests from the soldiers as I stopped just before it and blasted a massive amount of purple fire towards the wave of earth making it stop burning to ashes. "I don't have time for this," I muttered to myself as more Earth Kingdom soldiers attacked us, I got fed up and set my whole body on fire letting it spread to the ground as it burnt the Earth Kingdom soldiers around us. I didn't kill them, they were all just unconscious as they all dropped onto the ground all around us in mid-action. "We're heading back" I ordered the men and we began clearing up leaving the injured Earth Kingdom soldiers for dead. The men thinking I had killed all of those soldiers as they packed up all of the tents and putting everything away then we headed back to our ship on the way to the Fire Nation._

* * *

 _We made it back to the Fire Nation in one piece and I went to my assigned room at the time to change ready for the War meeting that was taking place that afternoon, I sat down at my desk writing reports to fill the time. I kept thinking to myself that I would have to listen to those idiots again going on about how young I was, that I knew nothing about war, they usually stop around the time I silence them saying I had been on the battlefield since I was four years old. I had an ominous feeling settle into my stomach as if it felt something wrong was going to happen, if I had known what was to transpire in that War Room I would have said something sooner, I would have done something sooner._

* * *

 _I walked down the corridor with the rest of the Generals towards the War Room, still with the ominous feeling in my stomach as I walked closer. We turned the corner to see a boy about my age at the time seemingly arguing with the guards out front of the War Room, he had the usual pale skin of most Fire Nation natives, his hair was up in a high ponytail with a strand of hair lying on his forehead and wore the royal garb. I knew who this was, it was Prince Zuko. As we got closer to the door, we could hear that he wanted to go inside the War Room with us but the guards just ignored the young Prince. I looked at him closely, he seemed almost bratty at first but there was a fire in his eyes that he had something to prove to not just others but to himself as well. He turned towards our approach, we made eye contact with one another I felt in my stomach flipping inside as my cheeks began to heat up. I knew what was happening and scolded myself, calming my thoughts, I kept thinking to myself "Don't blush!" and taking a deep breath I made sure to look like my normal self as we reached the door, the guards open the door for us holding off the brash young Prince as the doors closed behind us._

* * *

 _Inside the room we sat in our assigned seats, we could still hear Prince Zuko demanding to go inside, I prayed for one reason or another that he never entered this room to hear these old men boast about their conquests in battle or the plan they wanted to set in place for future battles. The feelings I had was of protecting him from their harsh words, they're thoughts, they're ideas everything to protect the young Prince, to keep somewhat innocent._

* * *

I take another step forward as the memory fades and look at the two men as they continue to fight, I look closer to see in Zuko's eyes that same fire in his eyes that he had to still prove himself to others. I know inside that he doesn't need to prove himself to others, he has to realise that there is nothing to prove to anyone. I still think of that day, if I had spoken up instead, Zuko never would have had to suffer for however it was that we would be out looking for the Avatar.

 **A/N: This is Memory Number 9 - Her first thoughts on Prince Zuko. Hope you liked it please comment and the last one is coming up next.**


	17. Happy Birthday or Found Day?

**Happy Birthday or Found Day?**

Rin's POV:

It was early morning, no one was awake just yet as I sit on the deck on the guard railing side looking out to the ocean, it was fifteen years to the day my adopted parents found me on their doorstep. I feel the burning sensation you usually get when someone is looking at you, I could feel that it was from the navigation room, I look up to see Prince Zuko staring down at me from the guard railing just outside the navigation room. He seems distracted by the look in his eyes, I slide down from the side, making my way up to the guard railing outside the navigation room.

* * *

Zuko still standing at the guard railing looking out ahead of the ship as we slowly sailed in the open ocean, I step over to stand next to him but I don't look at him I just stare out ahead like him. "Why up so early?" I ask him, he seems to have black circles around his eyes as if he hasn't slept at all, this concerned me as I had vowed to Iroh to protect his nephew from anything, this was included.

"I couldn't sleep, kept thinking about finding the Avatar." He replies shortly before bowing his head almost in disappointment at the thought of not having found him yet. This was a usual occurrence as he would stress over finding the Avatar as his longing to go back home grew, I knew the feeling as I wanted to find my real parents but I soon gave up on those thoughts as they gave me up, they didn't want me. "Why are you up?" He asks me, looking over at me in my nightgown, my hair was also down as it was a few hours till anyone else was going to be up or so I thought, so I wasn't dressed.

"It's my birthday, or it could be the day my parents found me," I confess, turning to look at him, he seems confused at first then realisation.

"I see, do you mind me asking, do you want to know who they are?" He asks me, at first I think about it, I once did want to know but now if I found out I don't know what I would do.

"I did when I first found out that I was adopted, but now I'm not too sure what I want in regards to my real parents," I answer him honestly, I felt I could be honest with him and he could with me over the course of the year and a bit we have been on the search for the Avatar.

"I could understand your point, I don't know what I would do in your position." He comments, I look at him and remember the time my parents had told me the story of how they found me, it keeps me wondering who left me on their doorstep and why.

"Some days I wonder if she was like, this woman in a cloak running away from danger and she felt like I would be safe if she left me behind and was going to come to my home to take me away, but I gave up on that the longer it was. I think their dead my real parents, I have a gut feeling that I'm right." I tell him and bow my head, he seems to struggle with what to do and just settles for patting me awkwardly on the back, I was grateful for any interaction at this point.

* * *

3rd POV:

 _Fifteen years and a day ago in the Fire Nation Capital General Hospice Maternity ward, the screams of a woman in labour could be heard, it soon stopped replaced with the cries of a newborn. Outside the room, a minute later the doctor and a nurse whisper quietly to one another. "Doctor, I don't understand, she came in healthy." The Nurse inquired about the woman that had just given birth._

 _"It can happen." The Doctor dismisses looking inside the room at the nurses cleaning up the poor woman as her baby cries for her once more. "She went peacefully, holding her baby." He adds smiling sadly at the memory of the woman's last request and how she slowly closed her eyes looking down at her smiling lovingly, the kind a mother gives._

 _"Doctor, she gave me instructions for the baby." The Nurse voices as she looks back into the room at the wailing baby._

 _"What did she say?" He asks her and she explains that the woman had told her the name of her husband and that he was away in battle but would be back in two days time and to tell him what had happened along with giving her the note she had given her that read 'This is Rinako, Treat her well, Love C X'. "Well, in two days time go and find him, do just that." The Doctor tells her and walks away unaware that another nurse (brown hair) had heard all of this growing jealous of the now dead woman, she takes the baby into her arms. She played as if she were taking her to the nursery but she went on out of the General Hospice onto the street with the note in hand._

* * *

 _The runaway nurse keeps walking till she comes to a large house, seeing a young woman looking lonely and walks over to the front door and places the sleeping baby with the note down attached on the doorstep and walked away with a somewhat smirk on her face as she had stopped her old crush who she remembered had never had time for a relationship would never find his daughter as she had changed the name to just simply, Rin._

* * *

I just keep remembering as the years went on from that day they told me, my mother had just opened the door to my father coming home to find me in his arms just as confused as her but they kept me as they were never able to have children themselves. I was glad I got to make them happy but sometimes I think about my real parents, was I not enough to make them happy or was me being left behind taking away their chance of being happy. I would never know.

 **A/N: This is Memory Number 1 - Rin being left on the doorstep. Hope you liked it please comment and this is the last chapter of Avatar: Last Airbender - General Rin (Water) and the next chapter will be in my new book Avatar: Last Airbender - Fugitive Rin (Earth) so keep an eye out for it. I will put a link to the cover, so don't worry!**


	18. Sequel

This is DeadGirlEternal here with the sequel link hope you like please favourite and comment!

s/12705834/1/Avatar-Last-Airbender-Fugitive-Rin-Earth


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